Weak
by Vanwa Lullaby
Summary: Bella thought that she would never get to see his face again. Never again would he hold her in his arms. And yet, a simple trip made to see his killers reunites her with the one she thought gone forever. He still has her heart, but does he want it?
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so this was just an idea that came to me awhile to go, and I finally decided to write it. I will probably only update since I have another story going so be patient!**

**--**

Before, I had always thought of myself as the weak one. I couldn't protect the ones close to me, let alone myself. I was always in danger, and never able to do anything about it. So I guess you could call me weak.

When I changed, I thought I wouldn't be weak anymore, but I then thought I was wrong once I awoke to this life. I still thought of myself as weak because I couldn't bare to be around _my_ family. It hurt to much. They're painful reminders of the past. Of _him_. I used the excuse that the Volturi would be looking for me, and I didn't want trouble, to leave. Of course, my excuse was true, the Volturi were looking for me, and they did find me.

When I saw that traitor with red eyes, and someone else in his arms, I knew I was weak. Because I was so sure that I couldn't get him back, that he still thought of me as the same, clumsy, Bella, so that made me weak. That no matter how hard I tried, I would never be good enough for him, strong enough. But I was wrong the whole time.

I've never been the weak one. He has.

--

Bella's Point of View

Thunder clapped over head, and rain poured down, washing everything clean. Wiping everything away. A blank page page. A new start.

The blood washed from my hands, leaving them clean again. The bobcat I had fed from fought back against me, and had gotten blood all over my hands in the process. I wiped some of it off on my jeans. My torn skinny jeans clung to me, my black leather jacket keeping part of my red camisole dry. My converse were soaked, and mud coated, but I didn't care. I pulled my hair back in a messy bun, a few strands hanging down around my face, and headed towards the near by city.

When I entered the city, I didn't pay any attention to the signs, or the few people that were out. I just walked down the side of the street, trying to figure out where the airport was. I wanted to go back to America, maybe do a quick visit with my father. I hadn't seen him since I got 'a job offer' in England seven years ago. With a little make up, I could make him believe that I'm twenty four.

I heard the roar of airplane engines, and headed towards it. It took me a couple minutes going at a human pace to get there. I finally got there, and went into the semi busy lobby. I was looking up at the flight boards, wondering if they took American money when I saw him enter the room. I knew immediately who he was from the black cloak he wore.

Well, not his name, but who had sent him. Aro. One of his guards had finally caught up with me. It had come close several times, but never this close. I took one step back, and his head snapped around to look straight at me, having heard the sound. Although I couldn't see his eyes, for the hood of the cloak hid his whole face, I knew that they were looking straight into mine. I took another step backwards, and then another. I wasn't ready to face the Volturi yet. Not after what they did.

I still hadn't gotten over Edward's death. I don't think I ever will. The only reason I didn't let Aro drain me that day was that I knew Edward would want me to continue living, not to die just because he did. So I did. I lived on, even if I didn't want to. Even though it was killing me inside, I lived on.

I'm weak. That's why I haven't gotten over it, or at least just accepted that he's dead. If I wasn't so weak, then I could at least accept that he's gone, and never coming back. But I can't do that, I can't help but keep on looking for some sign that he's still out there, waiting for me to find him. I just can't let him go, and at least try to be happy.

A strong hand clamped on to my shoulder. "You did a very good job of hiding from me this long, Bella. We never did think that it could have been you hiding from us." A familiar voice whispered in my ear. "No one has ever been able to hide from me, but you manage to hide yourself, and your family. Very impress." He chuckled.

The memory of last time I had seen Demetri, when I had met him, flashed into my mind. I had been running thought the square to save Edward. I could get a glimpse of him when someone wasn't blocking my view. Then, suddenly, he was gone. I couldn't see him anymore, even when no one was in front of me. I still continued racing, though. When I reached the clock tower, Alice was waiting for me, and a large vampire. He took us to see Aro. He told us that he didn't want to kill Edward, but that he had no choice. Edward was going to expose them all.

He offered us both a chance to join them, but we both declined. He also reminded us that I would have to be changed. Alice managed to convince him I would be. I wasn't so sure I still would be becoming one of them. I had no reason to. Demetri, and Felix, the vampire who had led us in, escorted us out. I had gotten the idea that Felix had a crush on me.

When I snapped back to reality, I was being led towards a small jet. I rolled my eyes. Of course the Volturi have a jet. To think of it, the Cullens probably do too.

He led me onto the jet. "You'll have to ride alone seeing as I'll be flying it. But, it's a short trip. Only an hour, or so." Demetri said, smiling at me. I sat down on one of the cushioned seats in front of the window. There was another just like it across from me.

I sat in silence, pondering about what was to come. I was going to see the vampire royal family. The vampires who killed the love of my life. I was hoping that I would finally get my closure from being here. And, I would finally be able to return to my family without having to worry about the Volturi showing up, and someone over reacting. We all assumed that the Volturi would be coming for me eventually.

Aro was fascinated with my ability as a human, and we all assumed that if I was ever changed it would get stronger. I never thought that it would be as powerful as it is now, though. Now, no powers can affect me, or anyone I chose to shield. Nothing affects me anymore. At all. It's easy to see why the Volturi would want me.

Before I knew it, we were touching down. He came back out, and handed me a cloak I had to put on. I sighed, and put it on. "You look nice in that." He said, flipping his hood up. I ignored him, and put my hood up too. I followed him off the plane. It wasn't raining here, the sun brightly shining. We walked a short distance, to a car with tinted windows. I climbed in the back, and he in the drivers seat. It only took a couple minutes before we were pulling into the gates, and a large garage. We climbed out, and headed inside.

He led me along many passages, so like the ones we traveled before, Maybe even the very ones we had traveled before. If they were, then I didn't know. We were going a lot faster than the last time I had been this way, not having to travel at a human pace. I didn't really pay attention to the doors we went through, or the corridors. I did, however, when we reached a large, familiar door. Demetri pushed it open, and led the way in. The door swung shut behind me.

"Ahh, Demetri, you found her! This is the one who has been avoiding, us?" Aro said when we entered. We approached, him, and the other two, Caius and Marcus.

"Yes, Aro. And it seems that we have met her before." He said. Aro's gaze turned to me. He couldn't tell who I was under the cloak hood.

"Really?" He asked, still looking at me. I lowered my hood.

"Hello Aro." I said. He smiled.

"Why Bella, what a lovely surprise! We never did think of you! So I see the Cullens changed you after all?" He said.

"Yes, they did." I said. Aro nodded, and Demetri walked forward to touch Aro's hand. I waited, knowing what was going on.

"They'll be back soon." Aro murmured before turning back to me. "Bella, dear, it seems you have caught us at a bad time. You see, we are about to feed." He said.

"Oh." I said, not really knowing what to say.

"You could always join us, if you want." Aro offered. I shook my head.

"Of course, I didn't think you would. I was just offering." He said. I could hear the rumble of feet coming. I glanced at the door.

"If you go out that door there, and take a left at the first turn, then take the stairs down, you'll find the garden. You can wait there until someone comes for you." Aro offered. "Just make sure you keep your hood up so the sun cannot catch you." I nodded, and headed out that way.

It didn't take me long to reach the garden. Before I even made it to the door, I was hit with the smell of all the flowers.

When I made it outside, I was amazed by the size of the gardens. Although there was a path through them, the gardens seemed as though they just sprung up. They were unkempt, the bushes not sheared, grass, and little weeds growing along with the overgrown flowers. But, it all made it more beautiful, the wildness of it.

I flipped my hood back up, and stepped out into the sun onto the cobblestone path. I began following it, taking in all the different colors, and smell. I reached a part where several small, red Japanese maples were gathered, under them a round clearing with a bench, and a fountain. A path led out the other side. I sat down on the stone bench, gazing into the water where several red leaves floated. My phone started beeping in my pocket, signaling that I had a text. I pulled it out, and looked at the screen.

_Bella, our near future just went blank. Does that mean your coming home soon? -Alice _I smiled. I hadn't talked, or had any contact with any of them since I left five years ago. I haven't had contact with anyone, actually.

_Yes, Alice, I will be coming back soon. I really miss you all. -Bella _She replied just a couple second later.

_Really? I can't wait to tell everyone! We all miss you too. What made you change your mind?_

_Could you not tell them? I want it to be a surprise. The Volturi, actually. They finally got me today. I won't be staying more than a couple weeks though. I'll probably leave later today, or tomorrow actually. _It took her a bit longer to reply this time.

_Okay. Let me know when your leaving so I can tell you where we're gonna be. I got to go, I'll talk to you later, Bella._

I sighed, and put my phone back into my pocket. I had told myself that whenever the Volturi caught up to me, I would return to my family. So I guess that it was already decided for me.

I looked into the fountain again, listening to the water move in it. It was just a round fountain with a round water sprout in the middle of it. Very simple, yet so perfect. It fit in with the garden perfectly.

"Ah, I see you found the fountain. Bella." Came Demetri's voice. I looked up to see his large figure standing there.

"This garden is beautiful." I said standing up, and walking over to him.

We started walking back down the path next to each other, neither of us saying anything. I noticed the column of smoke spiraling into the sky, and assumed that they burned the body's once they were done with them. It took us only another minute to get back inside, and to the door. He held it open for me, and I walked in in front of him.

There was two more vampires in the room. One was a girl in a pair of fishnets, a short skirt, and a tight red top standing at the back of the room. Her hair was long, and brown, falling in gentle waves to the middle of her back. She reminded me of Rosalie simply from her beauty. I noticed her eyes were a strange purple color. They flicked to me when I entered, then back to the two vampires at the front of the room.

Aro was touching another vampire's hand, both of their heads bowed slightly over their hands. This vampire had on a cloak with the hood up like Demetri and I, but instead of his being gray like mine, or a slightly darker gray like Demetri's, it was a dark gray, almost black. I watched as they stayed connected much longer than Aro would with someone else.

When they finally pulled apart a couple minutes later, Demetri mumbled to himself, "Oh, this will be good." The cloaked vampires head whipped towards us. He looked at me a moment before walking over to the beautiful vampire in the corner, and wrapping his arm around her waist.

I saw Aro looking at me, a worried look on his face. I wondered what that was about. As I did, a thought came to me. I approached Aro. He took a couple steps towards me, a small girl just a couple steps behind.

"Yes, dear?" He asked. I didn't say anything, but simply pushed my shield away so it was covering us both. I held my hand out. He looked at it a moment before closing the distance, and touching it. A soft gasp slipped through his lips.

"You've been through quiet a lot." Aro said when he pulled his hand away, and I let my shield snap back into place. I smiled sadly.

"I have." I said. Aro's face turned away from mine. He opened his mouth to say something, but another voice cut him off.

"Your hopes are useless. And I'll never be yours. So just get over me." Came a harsh, but velvet voice from behind me.

I spun around, having thought for the past six years that the owner of that voice was gone, forever. Edward was standing there, the hood of his dark gray cloak down. His arm was wrapped snuggly around the brunette. There was a cruel, mocking smile on his face, but that's not what set me off. No, it was his bright red eyes.

"Traitor." I hissed before lunging at him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hehe, okay so for you people who don't know this, Santiago is a real character in the twilight series. He is part of the Volturi, and is one of the wives guard.**

**--**

I was tackled before I reached him. I struggled against Demetri's grasp, but couldn't break free. Edward's laugh echoed through the chamber. I struggled even harder to break free.

"Just give up." Edward said. I heard his, and that girl's footsteps leave the room. A second later, Demetri let me go. I slowly got up.

"Bella, dear-" Aro started, but I cut him off.

"Aro, do have a room could use? I think I may be staying here jus at but longer than I thought." I said.

"Of course, Bella. Demetri, show her to one of the guest rooms, please?" Aro asked, not bothering to ask why I just about attacked the vampire I used to be in love with.

"That was quiet a stunt you tried to pull back there, little one." Demetri said, once we were heading down a hall. I didn't say anything as he lead me down another hall, and up a huge spiral staircase. Eventually, we stopped at a door at the top of the staircase. There had been other stops, but this was the last one. I assumed this was at the top of a tower.

"Let me know if this room is not suitable. I rather think myself that you will like it. Let me know if there is anything else you need. I'm sure you can find me." Demetri said.

"Thank you, Demetri." I said. I stood there, and watched as he disappeared down the steps. Once he was gone, I turned back to the door, and twisted the handle. I went inside.

The room was ancient, you could tell, and it was very simple. It was a huge round room, two large windows facing opposite each other. The walls, and floor were concrete, but the floor was covered with a huge round black rug that almost reached the walls. There was a dark wood writing desk with a rounded back that fit the wall, a black iron chair with a blood red cushion to go with it. Nothing was on the walls, but in the window sills were cushions to match those on the chairs. Also, there was a black iron bed with the head board along one wall. The head board was very intricate, rose designs made from the metal. The covers were blood red, like everything else fabric in the room. I figured the bed was for mates, or just to humor the guests, when they had them. Then, lastly, there was a wardrobe along another wall, made from the same dark wood as the desk. The middle of the room was very empty, very open. I liked it that way.

I sighed, and walked over to one of the windows, and looked out of it. It looked towards the square that was a little off since I was at the back of the castle. I could still see everything perfectly fine, though. I walked over to the other window, and looked out. It had a beautiful view of the garden. I smiled. Of course Demetri knew I would like this room because of the view of the garden.

I pushed my shoes off of my feel, and curled up in the window sill. I continued to sit there, staring out of the window until the sun set.

**Santiago's point of view**

We all heard about the arrival of the vampire we had been looking for. Demetri had found her again, and managed to get her this time. Than didn't really surprise us, we knew she would be caught eventually.

What was surprising is her identity. Bella… Swan or Cullen? We weren't sure which it was, but we assumed Cullen since that was most likely her coven.

What was most shocking though was what had happened after we all had left the room. Or, most of us at least. Edward was staying behind to give Aro his report for the day so far. Heidi, his mate, was waiting for him when Demetri brought the girl back into the room. When she had decided, for some strange reason, to share her thoughts with Aro, Edward had apparently waited patiently, knowing who the girl was.

He had seen some of her thoughts in Aro's mind when she pulled away, letting her shield snap back with her. He made a comment to her, and she apparently snapped. She lunged at him, doing what none of us had the guts to do. She was stopped, to his supposed amusement, and he left before she could get up.

We didn't really dwell on it, only thinking of it long enough to pass it along. Of course, we were all impressed it the girl, but we didn't dare to think it. There was the chance that Edward might hear us, and none of us wanted to be caught thinking about the girl he almost killed himself over.

Edward is no doubt one of the strangest vampires I've ever met. I was here, with the Volturi when Carlisle arrived, having just been changed a year previous from an old, weak vampire. He fled when a crowd started to come, not wanting to be exposed. One of the guards who doesn't work with us anymore found me, and brought me back.

But, having met Carlisle, I was expecting something different from his first companion than what he really was I thought that Edward would be just like Carlisle, intelligent, caring, and compassionate. Only one of those is true for Edward, and that is that he is intelligent, and very much so.

Edward was unlike any other vampire we had ever met, wishing for death. The fact that he had also fallen in love with a human made him impossibly strange. We had never met, or even thought of a suicidal vampire before. We offered him a spot with us twice, but both times he refused. He kept asking for death. After we said no to him, he decided to force it upon himself. Right when he was going to step out into the sunlight, Heidi, and Alec were there. They gave him one last chance, and, for some reason, he took it.

Not even a minute later, Bella, and his sister Alice were there. Demetri and Felix were sent to take care of them. Not one murmur was even heard about the Cullens, or Bella again until now.

The true Edward quickly came out after that. He wasn't quiet, and suicidal anymore. No, he let you know what he thought, and you better not get in his way. He was hostile, not even taking a wrong look well. He knew what you were really thinking about him, which was never good. This hostile, violent person was very unexpected, having been brought up in this life by Carlisle. I was sure that Carlisle would never allow this kind of behavior. Edward truly lived up to the reputation of the Volturi.

Him and Heidi quickly took al liking to each other. I never could tell what she saw in a guy like him, but if that was what she wanted, then so be it. He also sat well with the trio, quickly getting promoted to the highest level of guard. Him, and Caius quickly got along, from what I assumed was his hostile manner. For some reason, though, we truly hated Marcus. He was always telling him to 'watch his damn thoughts'. This, of course, always left us wondering what was going on inside Marcus's head that upset him so much. That only got us in more danger with Edward.

The one thing from Edward's old life that we expected him to keep was his feeding habits. His eyes, although black when he arrived, had been a bright gold once. So ,we expected him t continue on as a gold eye. When he joined us later that day in feeding, we were surprised. We hadn't expected him to join us in feeding habits, and if he ever did that he wouldn't do it so quickly.

For most of the, I was in throne room ,where the elders, and the wives were. They were, or course, discussing Bella. And if the wives were there, and there was a visitor, then I had to be there. I was their guard when there was any chance of danger coming to them. And despite Aro trying to tell them she wasn't, the others still didn't believe Bella wasn't a danger to them. They had thought of bringing Edward in to ask him since he knew her best. Aro may have seen her thoughts, but that doesn't mean he knows her.

"Santiago," Aro said suddenly, drawing me from my thoughts. It was sunset now, and I had been in this room for several hours, doing nothing but thinking.

"Yes, master?" I asked.

"Could you go fetch young Bella for us? We would like to speak with her." Aro said. I nodded, and quickly set off.

I followed the scent trail that her, and Demetri had left when they were going to her room earlier. I had no doubts that most of the single males her were pining after Bella. The way Felix talked about her while she was human drove me to the edge of sanity. And Demetri, well, he let me know just how happy he was about getting so much time with Bella before he went out to patrol.

Finally, I reached the room at the top of the tower. I knocked once on the door.

"Come in," Said a soft, bell like voice. Finally, I'm going to meet this Bella…

I opened the door, and looked around. Finally, my eyes found her, sitting in one of the window sills, the one that over looked the garden, staring out of it. Her legs were pulled up loosely in front of her, her hands resting on them. She still had the cloak on, and it was fanned out beneath her, hanging off of the edge slightly. Her hair was pulled back in a bun, some of it hanging down around her face in loose curls. The setting sun hit her skin, but being slightly blocked by the window, it glimmered instead of full out sparkling. It was easy to see why everyone was so obsessed wit this girl.

She's beautiful.

--

**Sorry it took so long. I'm really not in a writing mood cause my other running story isn't doing so well. All of the fans of its prequel seemed to have ditched me so I'm really bummed out right now.**

**Please, review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Santiago's point of view**

I stood there, looking at her for a moment longer. She eventually turned her head, and looked at me. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of topaz, but they were dull, lifeless. There was no light to them, and it bothered me. It was clear that she was sad, in pain.

"May I help you?" She asked with her beautiful bell voice.

"Aro wishes to speak with you Ms…Cullen?" I said, the last part coming out as a question.

"Swan. I'm not a Cullen." She said. I saw a brief flash of pain in her eyes. She stood up, and walked over to me. I noticed that her clothes her dirty, and wrinkled, like she had been wearing them wet. To think of it, she probably had.

"There are clothes in the wardrobe if you would like to change." I said, pointing towards it.

"Oh, thank you." She said, stepping towards it. I stepped outside, closing the door behind me.

As I stood out there in the hall, I let out a breath. There was something special about this girl…

**Bella's Point of view **

Once Santiago had left the room, I walked over the wardrobe, and pulled it open. On one side was jeans, another shirts. On the bottom was shoes. In the drawer on the bottom was accessories.

I ended up picking out a white strapless corset with tiny black pearl buttons up the front, and black straight leg jeans. I slipped on a pair of black peep toe shoes. I left my hair pulled back in a bun, and put my stuff on the floor next to the wardrobe. I would take care of that later.

I opened the door to find Santiago standing there. He had a strange look on his face. "Is everything okay?" I asked. He turned towards me.

"Yes, its just…never mind." he said quietly.

"What? You can tell me." I said.

"It's nothing. I promise." he said, flashing me a small smile.

"Okay…" I said. It was quiet for a little after that. He spoke again when we reached the bottom of the staircase.

"That's a beautiful locket you have there." Santiago said. Instinctively I reached down, and wrapped my hand around it.

"Thank you." I said, my voice stiff.

Esme had given me this necklace. It had belonged to Edward's mother, and she thought that I should have it. On the inside is a picture of Edward, the other side a picture of all the Cullens. I always wore it. I felt as if it was something that tied me to them.

Santiago must have heard something in my voice that made him not say anything else. When we turned into the hall that led to the throne room, Santiago grabbed my hand, and pulled me over to the wall. I heard a low murmur of voices, and saw the door open. Jane, and Alec came out, and went one way while Edward came out, and headed our way. I sighed, and pulled on Santiago's hand to get him to come with me, away from the wall. We walked straight down the hall towards Edward, hand-in-hand. He gave a low snort when he saw us.

"What?" I snapped at him. Santiago tried to keep walking, tugging on my hand. I pulled my hand out of his, and he stopped, looking back at us.

"I just find it amusing that two people like you actually thought of getting together." He said before continuing on. I was about to respond when Santiago grabbed my hand.

"Dammit, Bella, come on." He said. I looked at, and saw him staring at me. I walk over to his side, and we continued on.

"Why are you guys so afraid of him?" I asked, looking at Santiago's face.

"Because, he hears everything. And when you upset him, or do anything to provoke him, he will respond." Santiago said, not looking at me.

"So why doesn't Aro do something?"

"He's Aro's most prized member. He's one of the best fighters, and can hear thoughts. He knows who innocent, and can tell if someone is hiding. He's dangerous." I bit my lip, and looked away.

"He was never this way before, was he?" He asked. I shook my head.

"No, he wasn't. He was always the perfect gentleman. He was always watching out for me. I couldn't tell you how many times he saved my life." I said, looking back at Santiago.

"Saved your life?" He asked, looking at me. We had reached the still open doors by now. I stopped.

"I was a big klutz, and a danger magnet. I was always getting myself into trouble, and being around vampires didn't help." I said with a small smile. Santiago did too, and we walked into the room.

"Hello, Bella. Thank you Santiago." Aro said, looking at us. Santiago nodded, and let go of my hand. He walked over to two women who I assumed were the wives.

"Hello Aro." I said. Then added, "Caius, Marcus." They each nodded mutely in return.

"Bella, we need to talk to you about some things." Aro said. I took a couple steps away from the door, and towards him.

"Okay." I said, wondering what it could be. He sighed.

"Bella, seeing as you are immune to all of our gifts, we have to be wary about you. Usually, we can make sure on harm I s to come to anyone in, or outside of our fortress with our powers. With you we cannot do that. We have no guarantee that you will not try to do something." He said. I was shocked. They thought I might try to attack them?

"Aro, you have no need to worry. I let you into my thoughts, and you saw no signs of an attack, did you? And I'm not stupid. I know that if I try to attack, I would be killed. I am greatly out numbered." I said.

"But you know so many. We cannot help but worry." Aro said, giving me an apologetic look. I could tell this was not his idea.

"It's okay Aro. I can assure you that there is no need to worry about that. I would never think of even trying. And besides, could you imagine how Carlisle would react to me doing that to his old friend?" I said. Aro's eyes lit up at the mention of his friend's name.

"You haven't talked to him since you left? Little after you were changed, correct?" Aro asked. I nodded.

"Yes, but I intend on going back once I leave here." I said, starting a long, and enjoyable conversation.

--

We talked for hours. The wives, and one of their guards left the room so that it was only me, the trio, and Santiago left, who had come over to stand by me. We talked about when Carlisle was here for awhile, Aro telling me stories. We talked about the places I had traveled to, and the people I had met so the others knew some about my travels. Aro already knew from my thoughts, but the others didn't.

"Santiago, why don't you show young Bella around the town? I'm sure she would love to see our beautiful city." Aro said eventually.

"Would like to?" Santiago asked me. I smiled.

"I would love to." I said, reaching out, and taking his hand.

--

**Aro's Point of view**

When I saw Bella's thoughts, I was surprised. She remembered most of what happened in her last human years, and thought about them a lot. She had been through so much pain when young Edward left her. It was hard for even me to watch. She was dead on the inside. Worse off then he had been.

She still loved him, too. Always thinking off him, even if she didn't want to. She avoided everything that reminded her of him, including her family. She left them, just so she didn't have to think about him, about his 'death'. And, of course, she had to go through this pain because of me.

Edward is the center piece of my collection of talents. Sure, he may have a different form of my own talent, but he is still extremely useful. I see in his thoughts that he doesn't think of her much anymore, which surprised me. He had come here for death because of this girl, and now, she never even crossed his thoughts.

They were meant to be together, that much was clear to me. But, Edward was determined to love Heidi, even if she's not his mate. So, Bella can't be with him then. It's only fair that she gets her happy ending too. And, of course, if she falls for one of my guards, then she will just have to stay here if she truly wants to keep him… It would a gain for me.

Bella, and Santiago already seemed to get along so well. Everyone seemed to be drawn to this girl, and he couldn't help it. So, why shouldn't I encourage this behavior?

Once they left, Marcus walked over to me, and placed his hand lightly on mine. He thought I was medaling where I shouldn't be. He usually didn't care, or even act like this. Caius, who couldn't care less, left the room.

_Their not meant to be, Aro. You know that. _He let me know before he too left. I knew he was right, but I didn't really care.

As long as Bella joins us, I will be happy.

**--**

**He he. Aro's a little evil, isn't he? Sorry it took so long, but I've been busy.**

**There is a link for the locket on my profile if you want to know what it looks like. Oh yeah, I have a poll up, and I really need you all to vote on it! Please!**

**Please, please, review!!!!!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Please, vote on the poll!**

**--**

Santiago deposited his cloak, and grabbed some money before we left. We decided to walk since we don't get tired, and so I could see the sights better.

We walked through the city for awhile, the guys staring at me, the girls at Santiago. Surprisingly, that didn't bother me as much as it usually would. It really was quiet enjoyable. Once we had been walking around for a couple hours, the tower saying it was nearing eleven, we were heading back into the more main part of the city.

"Anything else you wanna see, or do?" I asked him.

"Well, we still have the whole night ahead of us. I'm sure Aro won't miss us for a couple more hours." Santiago said, smiling beautifully at me.

"So, what are we gonna do?" I asked, swinging our hands. We passed under the florescent glow of a club light. Our skin shimmered strangely. Santiago looked at me, and smiled again.

"Wanna go dancing?" He asked. My first response was to say, no, I don't dance. But, something about Santiago told me I could go, and enjoy myself. Something about him made me want to go.

"I'd love too." I said, turning towards the club behind us.

"Not, not that club. We're going to go to a more elite club, one many can't get too. La Notte Rossa. " He said.

"What does that mean?" I asked as we started walking again.

"The Red Night." He said with a smile. We walked a couple more blocks, and before it was in sight, I could hear the music, and smell the sweat of the humans. We came upon a large black building with La Notte Rossa in red letters over the door. There was two large men, and a long line in front of it. Nobody was getting in, it seemed.

Santiago walked right up to the front of the line. There were many shouts of, 'hey!' and 'Indietro della linea!' but we just ignored them as we approached the front of the line.

"Walk up to one of them, say, 'Hey, bello. Pensi che potreste lasciare me ed il mio amico dentro? I realmente don' la t voule dovere attendere nella linia, okay? And give him this." Santiago said, so quiet that no human had a hope of hearing, and handed me some money.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"Don't worry about it." He said. I sighed, and walked up to the two guys, Santiago right behind me. I put my hand on the shoulder of the closest to me. He looked over, and his eyes bulged a little when he saw me. I stretched up a little in my heels to reach his ear.

"Hey, bello. Pensi che potreste lasciare me ed il mio amico dentro? I realmente don' la t voule dovere attendere nella linia." I purred into his ear as I slipped the money into his hand. He looked over at me, and I flashed him a smile.

"Naturalmente non, vada avanti." He said, unclipping a red belt, and letting us in. I reached back, and grabbed Santiago's hand before walking through.

"Naturalmente she' presa. Troppo bello essere singolo." I heard the guard mutter. Santiago chuckled, and we walked into the club. The room was packed, little room to move. On one side was a large bar, and stairs leading up to the d.j. On two other walls were tables, and round couches around little tables.

"What did he say?" I asked Santiago as we moved towards the middle of the room.

He smiled a sweet smile. "He said 'of course she's taken. Too beautiful to be single.'" He said. I smiled, and grabbed his other hand.

"Let's dance."

--

We danced for a couple hours, barely paying attention to any thing but each other. A few brave humans came up, and tried to flirt, and get us to dance with them, but none of them succeeded. We were too lost in the fun we were having together. After two tolls of the clock tower, meaning it was one in the morning, we decided to head back.

"That was the most fun I've had in a really long time." I said as we walked back towards the square. Not a lot of people were out now, the streets much quieter.

"I'm glad." Santiago said, giving my hand a squeeze. I looked up at the sky to see a full moon high above us. I continued to look at it as we walked, letting Santiago guide me. When I looked back down, I saw him staring at me.

"What?" I asked, smiling a little.

He looked away. "Nothing." He said, something he used a lot.

We walked in silence all the way back to the fortress. On the way there, I saw Alec, and Jane watching from the shadows, keeping an eye out for any danger. Santiago gave a curt nod to each of them, while I just ignored them. I could tell that Jane, and Alec didn't like me because they didn't effect me.

When we walked into the castle, and into the throne room, it was empty. "They've retired for the night." He said. "I'm sure you would like to, too. You've had a long day."

"I have. It's been a very long, and… exciting day, I guess you could say." I said, looking at him.

"Would you like me to walk you to your room?"

"Of course." I said, and we set off again. On the way there, we passed Felix, and a red headed girl who seemed to be little older than me patrolling through the castle. The rest of the walk up to my room was silent.

"Thank you. I really did have a great time with you tonight." I said, smiling.

"I'm glad. Goodnight Bella, I will see you tomorrow. Or, later today, I guess." Santiago said.

"Goodnight Santiago." I said. He smiled ,and kissed my forehead. He turned, and disappeared down the steps. I sighed, turned around, and entered my room.

I walked over to the window I had been sitting in earlier, and looked out of it. Down, in the garden was Edward, and Heidi. My dead heart gave a pang at the sight. I turned quickly, not wanting to see anymore. My breath was coming in ragged heaps as I sunk down against the wall. I wrapped my arms around my chest, something I hadn't done in so long. I hadn't felt the need to hold my shattered heart together since I was human, but I did now.

As I sat there, staring at the wall, I found myself drifting off into my thoughts, which was never good. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't control them anymore. My mind ventured into the memories I kept locked up, the ones that hurt the most.

My human memories.

--

Santiago's point of view.

All night I did nothing. I was supposed to be keeping an eye on the city, and the surrounding area, but I couldn't help but let my mind wonder. It kept going back to the night I had had with Bella. Her beautiful laugh, and the way her eyes sparkled. The way her skin glowed in the club as we danced…

I pulled myself out of those thoughts, reminding myself I was supposed to be keeping an eye on the city. I would see Bella again in a couple hours, when I was relieved from my job. I'm sure Aro wouldn't mind me keeping an eye on Bella for him. I could tell he wanted her to join us, and bad. But, I don't know if I could do that to her. She is a Cullen, who has a family. And, Edward is here.

But, she seemed to have so much fun tonight. Maybe, if she did stay, she could get over it. Over him. Surely, we could be happy together. We could stay with the Volturi happily together. Aro would never let us leave, but I know he would let us visit her family just to keep her happy. After all, Carlisle is an old friend…

_Stop! _I told myself. I was letting my mind get off course again. I need to focus. I mean, I doubt that no one would be stupid enough to challenge the Volturi, but we might have another problem. A killing frenzy, an immortal child, a human in on the secret, like Bella was… Another Edward, a vampire wishing death…

--

My patrol seemed to last forever. I had to stay in the shadows once the sun began to rise. Eventually, Corincame to relieve me of my duty. I rushed inside, went to my room to change, and went to the throne room, hoping to find Aro there. Of course he was, probably hoping to talk to Bella again. He knew that's where she would look for him at.

I approached him, and held my hand out. He slipped his palm on top of it, and his eyes slipped closed, seeing my thoughts. After a moment, he pulled away.

"Of course I would not mind, my dear Santiago. Bella needs a guide while she is here. And you are correct. She would make a lovely addition to our family." Aro said with a smile.

"Thank you, Aro." I said before rushing off to get Bella.

When I reached her room, I knocked on the door, not wanting to just walk in on her. That would be rude. She didn't answer, so I knocked again. No answer. "Bella?" I called, hoping she would answer. Of course, she didn't I sighed, and listened. Nothing. Not the sound of her moving around, or even breathing. If she was in there, something was wrong.

I pushed the door open to find Bella sitting on the floor, knees brought up to her chest. She was still in the clothes she had on yesterday, her hair still tumbling down her shoulders from when it had fallen down while she was dancing without her knowing. Her arms were wrapped in a death grip around her chest, as if there was an open wound there. She didn't even move, or respond when I entered. She did nothing. But, none of that is what disturbed me the most.

No, what truly bothered me was the dead, cold look in her eyes.

**--**

**People, please vote on the poll! I need to know what touthink! I will try to give you little hints about who is wining in the chapter. I will tell you that right now, it is tied. So, please vote! I will tell you now, you will not like what happens in the event of a tie. So, please vote!**

**Please, vote and review!!!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, so I know I said this was on hold. But, I feel really bad about that. So, I am trying my hardest to write both stories at the same time. I'm really stressed right now, being sick, and having reviewers from two stories ready to kill me, so this next couple chapters might be a little crappy. But, I am trying my best, believe me.**

**--**

I was pulled out of my wallowing, and memories by the feel of someone's hand on my shoulder. I jumped, almost falling over. As my eyes refocused, only taking a millisecond, I realized that it was Santiago, and he had a worried look on his face.

"Bella, are you okay?" He asked, helping me up with one hand while my other hand wrapped tightly around my midsection. For a moment, I struggled, trying to remember how to speak.

"I'm sorry. I was just so lost in my thoughts." I said, not looking at him. He squeezed my hand.

"Bella, I know it's worse than that." He said. My head snapped up so I could see into his eyes.

"I'm fine." I snapped, pulling away from him. "Now could you leave so I can get changed?"

He turned, and disappeared out of my room. I watched as the door shut with a _thud _a moment later. I sighed, and headed over to the wardrobe to pick out my clothes.

I stripped down to my underwear, and opened the door. After looking through the many clothes in it ,I decided on a creamish-white dress that was tight until my hips, then flared out lightly. I slipped it on, zipped up the back, and then pulled out a pair of cream colored wedges with wooden heel. I put them on my feet, tied the strap around my ankle, and shut the wardrobe. As was heading to my door, I took the hair band that I had on my wrist, and pulled my hair back into a messy bun, letting some fall down around my face, hiding one of my eyes. I opened the door, and headed downstairs.

I had expected Santiago to be waiting outside my door, or at the bottom of the giant staircase, but he wasn't. His scent led down a hallway I had never been into before. When I was about halfway down the hallway, a door just ahead of me opened, and Heidi walked out in black skinny jeans, and a black strapless tuxedo style top. Her heels clicked on the floor, and her brown hair swayed gently as she walked towards me.

"Looking for Santiago?" She asked.

"You wouldn't happen to know where he is?" I asked.

"Sorry, Hun, but you just missed him. He came down here to tell me that he was going to take over my shift for now. He won't be done patrolling for a couple hours." Heidi said, smiling sadly at me.

"Oh," I said, "Well, thanks."

I had started to turn, and head back up to my room when I heard the door open again. Heidi, and I both turned to see Edward come out of the room, looking gorgeous in dark jeans, and a white button up shirt, the sleeves rolled halfway up. He wrapped his arm around Heidi, and turned to me just as I was turning to go. He smirked, but it quickly disappeared when he saw the locket swing away from my chest as I turned. I quickly wrapped my hand around it, and disappeared down the hall.

I raced through the rooms I been through before, and flew out the back door into the garden. When I stepped out of the door, into the open, the sun caught my skin, causing it to glitter, and glow in the light. I quickly stepped back, not sure if any humans were close enough to see. I listened, and couldn't hear any close heartbeats, or breathing so I stepped out into the light again, and made my way into the garden.

As I walked, I opened my locket, revealing the two pictures in it. I took out the one in the back, the one on the side closest to my heart. I looked at the picture of Edward as I walked, hearing, and smelling the fountain getting closer. When I reached the fountain, I dropped the heart shaped picture of Edward into the water flowing down, letting the water ruin it. I watched as the colors ran, and the edges of the picture curled up from the water. Soon, you couldn't even tell what it was.

I opened the locket again, and looked at the black velvet where the picture was. It was still in perfect condition, even for being over a hundred years old, just like the person who it properly belonged to. I sighed, and looked at the other picture.

It was of the whole family, before I had met them. It was one of the few family pictures Esme had, and she had shrunk it down to fit in the locket. I could make out all of their features perfectly, even though the picture was small. It didn't do them any justice. Pictures never do.

I continued to wonder through the rest of the garden for quiet a few hours. It seemed that the fountain was not the center of the garden, as I had though, but just a simple little area of it. There wasn't an apparent center to the garden, just many paths leading through the beauty of it.

Eventually, after what seemed like hours, I began to head back. When I reached the spot with the fountain, and the bench, however, I found Santiago sitting on the bench, his grey cloak still on.

"Hey." I said quietly. He looked up, seeming a little surprised to see me.

"Hey. I didn't hear you coming." He said, standing up. I smiled a small smile, and walked over to him, grabbing his hand.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier." I said.

"It's okay. I kind of took you by surprise." He said.

"I shouldn't have let myself go that far." I said, absently mindedly.

"What do you mean?"

"I was thinking about my human life, something I never do." I said.

"I can see why." He replied. I smiled, and pulled him towards the exit of the garden.

As we walked back towards the fortress, I realized with a start that I already trusted, and liked Santiago, even though I had only known him a day. Something about him made me feel safe, and loved again. Something about him made me feel whole again.

When we entered the castle, some faint music was reaching my ears. I turned to Santiago, and he shrugged. I pulled on his hand, leading him farther back into the castle, and towards the sound of the music. We had only taken a couple more steps when I realized that it was someone playing the piano, and I was certain I knew who that someone was.

"Come on." I said, pulling Santiago's hand, and speeding up. We had only got a little bit farther when I recognized the piece, confirming my thoughts.

"It's Esme's favorite." I whispered to myself.

"What?" Santiago asked as we sped along.

"Nothing." I murmured.

We turned down the hallway I had gone looking in before. A door across the hall, and one down from the one Heidi and Edward were in, was open. I could smell the vampires that were inside the room. We were just a couple doors down when he played the closing notes. I heard the ones inside the room murmur in surprise, and their gentle clapping.

When we were just outside the room, he started another song. I froze, yanking Santiago to a halt with me. He gave me a questioning look, but I ignored it.

We stood there, and listened to Edward play my lullaby, me, and him the only ones knowing what that song truly meant. Everyone was deathly quiet as he played it, taking in the beauty, and complexity of the song. When he finished, it was quiet a moment. Then, I heard him close the cover to the keys, and stand. All of the other vampires that were in the room left, and he walked out to find both of us still standing there.

"Control your thoughts." He snapped at Santiago. Instinctively, I reached out with my shield to protect Santiago. Edward stopped, seeming surprised at the disappearance of his thoughts.

"Why did you play that?" I asked him in a whisper. I had shut my eyes, and when I opened them, he was facing me.

"I don't know." He said so quietly I barely heard it. Then, he disappeared.

--

**Yes, I updated! It could be awhile before I can update again, though. But, don't give up on me!**

**This was very hard for me to write! I keep thinking of my other story. But, I finished it.**

**Please, review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, I know the last chapter was really short, but you could have at least given me one review!**

**--**

"Bella, are you okay?" Santiago asked after a moment.

I put on a fake smile that I had been using for years, since before I was a vampire. "Yeah, I'm fine Santiago." I said.

"No, your not Bella." He said, looking at me. I was surprised. The only person who had ever seen through it was Jasper, and he never said anything about it.

" I have a gift for seeing things others don't, or can't." He said.

"I'm not okay, but I will be." I said, looking at him. I gave him a small smile.

"Come on." He said, tugging on my hand.

"Where are we going?" I asked him, letting him lead me down the hallway, and around the bend. He took me down to a shut door near the end of the hallway. He opened it, and let me walk in before him.

The room was large, way bigger than mine. One wall was almost completely window, having a great view of the garden. There was a desk of light wood in front of it. The floors were a dark wood, the walls of the same wood. Against one wall was a long, white couch, and many books cases beside it, loaded with books. A small coffee table was in front of the couch, and a matching chair on one side. On another wall was tall shelves, hold an impressive music collection, stereo, and a door that I assumed led to his closet. The room was lit by a large chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

"Wow. So, this is your room?" I asked Santiago, turning around to smile at him.

He smiled back. "Yes. I like my spaces to be very open."

I laughed. "I can tell."

His cell phone rang suddenly, and I jumped. Chuckling quietly, he answered it. Not wanting to be rude, and eavesdrop, I wandered off to the many shelves, full of music. There was older music, more classical, but that was out numbered greatly by more modern music, which surprised me. The music seemed to start with the oldest, and move into the more modern.

"Bella." Santiago said, walking up behind me. "Aro needs to see me for a moment. I'll be back, okay."

"Okay." I said, giving him a sweet smile. He smile back, and walked out of the room.

I turned back to the music, seeing many familiar names. Muse, Jack's Mannequin, Secondhand Serenade, Nickleback, and Brand New were just some of them. It had been awhile since I had actually listened to music, actual music. I, or course, heard little tidbits while I was traveling, but I never listened to it. It was usually in another language anyways.

I walked over to his stereo and, turned it on, curious as to what he had been listening to last. I pushed play, and listened to the spin, waiting for the music to start. There was guitar, and drums at first, then the lyrics started.

_I want to hear some music Now that they're driving us all underground Not the radio music, or their satellite singing this In this town, in this town…_

It wasn't on e of their songs I was familiar with, but I found myself tapping my hand long with the beat on the side o my thigh as I walked over to the chair by the coffee table to sit. I sat down, and started tapping my foot along with the beat.

The song had just ended when I heard his voice from the doorway. "Enjoying yourself?" I jumped, and looked up to see Santiago walking towards me.

"I was curious as to what you had been listening to." I said. He smiled, and picked up the remote to the stereo, which was on the table between us. He flipped it to another song, then held his hand out to me.

"May I have this dance?" He asked as piano music filled the room. I smiled, and grabbed his hand.\

_These hammers and strings been following me around_

As the music began, he pulled our entwined hand up between our chests. His other hand was wrapped around my waist. My other hand was around his neck, and we swayed on our feet to the music.

When the music picked up a bit more, he spun me out with one hand, and then back in to him. I smiled, and wrapped my arm around his neck again. We began moving, me following his lead. It was simple, a step back, forward, or to the side.

_And my friend calls me up with her heart heavy still She says, "Andy the doctors prescribed me the pills But I know I'm not crazy…_

We spun where we were, my dress flair out behind me slightly. As we slowed down, he let go of my hand, and moved it down to my waist with the other. I took my other hand, and moved it up to meet my other on his neck. The music was still playing, but we weren't moving any more. His bright red eyes met mine golden ones, and I found myself wanting to be closer, needing it…

I stretched up on my toes, closing my eyes, and bringing myself closer to him.

--

Heidi's Point of View

I gave Edward one last peck on the lips before he pulled away from me, a smile on his face. I leaned against the doorframe.

"Tonight, I promise." He said before turning and heading down the hall. I sighed, and gave a small smile.

I glanced down at my clothes, making sure everything still looked okay, then walked out of my room, pulling the door shut behind me. When the soft music reached my ears from Santiago's room, I got an idea. I was going to go out shopping when night fell, and I was sure Bella would want some clothes of her own taste. Something told me that what she had been wearing wasn't much of her taste, not after what she showed up in. And, that was ruined.

My mind made up, I walked down the hall, and around the corner towards Santiago's room .Of course, that wasn't the only reason I had for taking Bella. I had some questions for her too. Like, what happened between her and Edward? Something major must have happened between them to have made her react to him like that yesterday when she saw him. He never told me anything about his past, saying it is a burden he carries, what he did in the past. But, he won't explain any of it.

When I reached Santiago's room, I had my hand over the wooden door frame, ready to knock. My fist was an inch away from the door when I saw them.

They were kissing.

Bella stood, her tiny frame press up against Santiago's large frame. She had her arms around his neck, and was standing on tiptoes in her heels. He was bent over slightly, his arms around her waist. And, they were kissing.

_I'll write you a lullaby._

_A lullaby_

**--**

**Urgh, I know, it's really really short! But, I didn't really want to just fill this chapter with crap, so deal with it. The next chapter will be longer, and better I swear!**

**Omg! They kissed! XD who saw that one coming? **

**Oh, and the songs used in this chapter are Crashing, and Hammers and Strings (a lullaby) by Jack's Mannequin.**

**Please, review!!!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay, so suddenly I'm getting ideas for this story, and not my other. My brain seems pretty determined to only let me work on one story at a time. *sigh* damn brain…**

**--**

**Bella's Point of View**

I kissed him. I couldn't help it, it just seemed like the right thing to do. And it was… I think. But, it felt amazing. I had been so used to being loved, and kissed when I was with Edward that going eight years without it is strange. I had missed feeling loved.

Suddenly, I heard an intake of breath, and the rushed clicking of heels as someone rushed down the hall from Santiago's room. I froze against Santiago, as he did against me. Then, he was gone out of my arms, looking out of the room, and down the hall. I stood where I was, waiting to know who had caught us. Santiago stiffened, then turn to face me.

"Who was it?" I asked, taking a step towards him.

He didn't say anything for a moment, then said, "Heidi."

I groaned. "Great."

Santiago walked over, and grabbed my hand. "You don't regret it, do you?" He asked.

I smiled." Of course not." I stretched up on my toes to kiss him again.

"Heidi's not a nosy person, is she?" I asked when he pulled back.

"No. She's very respectful of other peoples personal business, actually. Why?" Santiago asked.

"She probably came here for a reason then." I said.

"You're probably right." He agreed, walking over to the table, picking up to remote, and turning off the radio.

"Let's go." I said, taking his hand.

We headed out into the empty hallway, looking for Heidi. Of course, it didn't take long to find her, for she had just returned to her room. The door was shut, and I knocked on it, not wanting to be rude.

"Come in." She said quietly. I pushed open the door, and we walked in.

Heidi was laying on a king sized bed with white covers. She was stretched out, and pulled her head up when we walked in. The look on her face said clearly that she would have been blushing if possible.

"Hi." She said quietly, seeing us.

"Heidi, did you want something? It seemed that way." Santiago said. He sounded a little rude, and I hit him with my elbow. He glanced down at me, but I didn't acknowledge it.

"Oh, um, yeah. It's just that I thought that maybe Bella would like to come, and get some stuff of her own taste." Heidi said, pushing herself up into a sitting position on the edge of the bed.

"Oh. That sounds like fun, Heidi, but I don't have any more money." I said. Both her, and Santiago chuckled.

"Bella, do you really think that we would let you spend any money while here as our guest? We have enough, trust me." Santiago said.

"But-"

"Bella, do you want to go, or not?" Heidi asked, cutting me off. There was a smile playing at the edge of her lips. I sighed.

"Sure, I would love to Heidi." I said. She smiled.

"Thanks. It'll be nice to have someone to shop with." She said.

I smiled. "Just come find me when your ready." I said, turning towards the door. We were almost out when she called out again.

"Wait!" She said. We turned around to see her standing. "I'm really sorry about earlier."

"It's fine, Heidi. We'll see you later." Santiago said, pulling me out of the room.

We walked out of her room, and out of that part of the castle. He led me down several hallways, and into an empty room. Then, Santiago turned to me, and grabbed my other hand. "Bella, there was something about the way Heidi was acting that worries me. I think she might be up to something, so keep an eye out tonight, okay?" He asked me.

"I'll be fine." I said, a little annoyed. "Everyone doesn't always need to be worrying over me like I'm some little girl. And I'm not. I can take care of myself." I snapped, pulling my hands out of his, and crossed them across my chest.

"Bella, I didn't mean it like that. I just didn't want you to be caught off guard by something." Santiago said.

"I'm sorry." I said, automatically feeling bad for what I had said. "It's just, when I was human, and a newborn, I was always being babied, getting treated like I couldn't handle myself. They always kept me in the dark, not wanting to worry me."

"By _they_, do you mean the Cullens?"

"Yes. And Edward was the worse, when he was still one of them. He was always worrying over me, and I thought it was kind of cute then, thinking that he actually had feelings for me." I said, looking down, not wanting Santiago to see my eyes. I had to fight the urge to let the memory of him leaving me over, and over in my head.

Santiago put his finger on my chin, and pushed my face up to that I was looking at him. "Bella, what did he do to you?" He asked, true concern in his voice.

I shook my head. "That's not really important right now. Maybe another time I'll tell you, okay?" I said, grabbing his hand. I kissed it before I pushed it away from my face. I smiled at him, then turned and walked out of the room. He didn't follow me.

When I entered the hallway, I could hear Heidi moving around in her room. I suddenly remembered what she knew. I reached out with my shield, and felt her light enter it. I smiled, and made my way through the many corridors, heading towards my room. I had only just came out of the one with the guards rooms, however, when I saw Edward returning to Heidi from guard, it seemed. I smiled slyly to myself, and he gave me an odd look, but didn't say anything. I headed up to my room to wait for Heidi to come, and get me.

**

Edward's Point of View

Felix came out to take my place of guard, and I made my way back to the castle, and Heidi, yet again.

This life I chose was rather boring. I did the same thing everyday. Nothing ever surprised me, and I was never sent away to do anything for I was one of Aro's main guards, one of the highest ranked, and he didn't want me far. When news reached us of this strange vampire who we had no effect over, Bella was brought to my mind for the first time since I had set foot in the castle. When I joined their guard, I had forced myself to push her out of my mind, and to let Heidi in.

Of course, that wasn't what my mind wanted. My mind wanted Bella, and my fa- _the Cullens._

I was surprised when Aro sent me out with Demetri to search for this vampire. We had no information on her, other than our powers would have no effect on her. We spent three years searching, and had several close calls before Demetri finally caught her. I had abandoned the search by then, Aro having decided that he would rather have me at the castle.

I was greatly surprised when I returned from luring in the weak humans with Heidi to find Bella there. I was even more surprised to see some of her thoughts that lingered in Aro's mind when she had drawn away. But, the greatest surprise was her attacking me.

I tried to avoid her and Santiago, who she had taken up a friendship with, much to my displeasure. I did a rather well job of it, and was cruel when they were around. I hadn't been expecting any more big shocks, and had expected Bella to leave after a couple days. Of course, she decided to stay for awhile.

Something about the sight of her wearing my mother's old locket set me off. I couldn't help it any more. The wall I had put up to hold back all of my old memories came crashing down, and I went over and over all the moments we had. Something about that brought me back to the piano I had in my room, but never played. I played, for the first time in years. I played her lullaby.

She heard, and was f course waiting with that Santiago when I left. That hadn't surprised me. I had been expecting her question, _why did you play that?, _but I still had no answer. Heidi was curious, but of course, I didn't tell her anything.

I had been so lost in thought that I didn't notice I was already heading to the hallway that led to mine, and Heidi's room. She was, no doubt, waiting for me. I was just getting ready to turn the corner when no other than Bella came around it. When she saw me, a small smile slipt on to her face, like she knew something I didn't. That didn't bother me. I didn't pay much attention to the meaning behind it.

When I did pay attention to was the way it looked on her face, and how I had missed her smile. The way that dress fit, showing off her body perfectly. The way she wore her hair, up, something she never did as a human. Some of it was down around her face, and it hid part of it from me, which I hated.

As much as I hated it, I couldn't get Bella off my mind.

--

**Okay, so I wasn't planning on doing Edward's POV until the very end, but I changed my mind. I'm really tired now, though, so I won't say more.**

**Please, review!**


	8. Chapter 8

Three sharp raps on my door signaled to me that Heidi was here. I got up from my seat in the window sill, and walked over to my door to answer it. Sure enough, there was Heidi, waiting for me with a small smile on her face.

"Ready?" She asked.

"Yep." I said, brushing some of my hair back from my face. I noted that it had actually stayed pulled back while we were dancing earlier.

I followed Heidi out of my room, and then out of the fortress. The sun had just set, so we had no need to cover our skin when we exited the building. Finally, Heidi spoke, breaking the silence.

"We're gonna walk, if that's okay with you. It's just easy to get from store to store this way." She said, glancing at me. I could tell there was something else she wanted to say.

"That's fine with me." I said.

It was again quiet. We had just passed through the plaza when Heidi decided to speak again.

"Bella, I must admit. I had a reason to bring you on this shopping trip besides needing somebody to shop with." Heidi said, not bothering to look at me. Santiago's warning sprung to my mind. I didn't reply to her.

"I was hoping you could answer some questions for me." She said when she realized I wasn't going to respond to her last statement. I saw her turn her head to look at me, and I in return turned my gaze to her.

"Oh, okay." I said, giving her a reassuring smile. She smiled back at me, and turned around the corner.

She was silent a moment before continuing. "Bella, I've been curious about what happened between you and Edward . When ever I ask him, he just tells me not to worry about it. That 'it's the past, and I need to be worrying about the future.'"

"Well, he's right." I said, looking at her. Her face fell. "But, you do have a right to know."

"So you'll tell me?" She asked, approaching the first store.

"I'll answer any questions you have, as long as you take it in pace." I said, looking at her.

She smiled. "Thank you, Bella. But, right now, let's shop."

--

We spent maybe an hour and a half in the first store, which was huge. Must to Heidi's displeasure, I got a new pair of converses, two pairs of straight legged jeans, and two pairs of skinny jeans. I also got a couple long sleeved shirts, and button ups. She seemed to have assumed that I had a taste more like hers based on what I wore that day, and the previous, assuming that what I had shown up in was my travel clothes. While all of my clothes fit in one of their large bags, she had three bags for all the clothes she got.

"That's one of my favorite stores for everyday wear." She said, smiling at me as we left the store, heading down the street.

"You're almost as bad as Alice." I said, remembering how she used to love to dress me up when I was still human. Bella Barbie.

"What?" She asked me, confused. "Wait, Alice is the one who you came here with the first time?"

"Yeah, she's my best friend. When I was still human she used to love to dress me up. Also, she hated all of my clothes since they were all jeans, and t-shirts, nothing she would ever be caught dead in." I said with a chuckle.

"Really?" Heidi asked, sound amused.

"Yeah. I would spend hours locked up in her bathroom, her doing my hair, and make-up." I said, letting some of the more pleasant human memories come back to mind. "I remember when she got me all dressed up for prom."

"Was it fun?" Heidi ask as she steered me towards another store.

"Which one? The prom, or the getting ready?"

"Both." She said, looking at me with a smile.

I smiled back at her. "Well, I was kinda annoyed when she was getting me ready because I had no idea where I was going. But it was also pretty amusing because I still had my cast on."

"You didn't know you were going to prom?" Heidi asked, sounding very amused. I nodded, laughing softly. "And why did you have a cast on?"

"That's a whole other story that I might tell you some time later." I said, looking around at the humans around us. She got the hint, and nodded. I didn't really plan on telling her, though.

"Go on." Heidi said, wanting to hear the rest of what happened that night as she led me towards the back of the store where I could see beauty products.

"Well, she did my hair and make-up, and it came out great, of course. Then she put me in this beautiful blue dress, which I'm sure she still has. Then she left so she could get ready herself." I said as we reached the cosmetics, and Heidi started looking at them.

"Much to my dad's displeasure, Edward came to pick me up, me still not knowing where I was going. Finally, on the way, I figured out that we were going to prom. I really did enjoy the night, though." I said, looking at her as she pulled out some eyeliner, and eye shadow.

She smiled, again. "What did you guys do?"

"Well, we danced most of the night. I hated dancing since I was a klutz, and had a walking cast on my foot, but Edward talked me into it. We also got some pictures taken together, but I have no idea what happened to them. It was one of the best days of my life." I said, not mentioning the conversation Edward and I had outside.

"It really does sound like fun." She said, turning, and heading over to the hair products.

--

In the end we had gone to five stores. I had four bags, and she had seven. It wasn't all that bad actually. I found that I actually enjoyed myself.

As we went from store to store, she asked me more questions about mine, and Edward's past. A lot of what I told her was the truth, but edited. I told her about how we met, and that I had just guessed what he was from all that I had observed. I told her about the Cullens, his _old_ family, because he never spoke of them. She also asked me about why he left me, but I couldn't answer that one. She was quiet for awhile after that, but then she started asking questions again, this time about myself.

When we got back, we were both laughing at something I had just said. We walked into the lobby, where Gianna was standing behind the desk, talking to Felix who was leaning on across it. I looked away from them, and to Santiago who was watching us, a smile on his face.

"Hey." I said, giving him a big smile. He walked over to where we had stopped, and took the bags from my hands. "You know I could carry those."

He smiled back at me. "I know, but I wouldn't be a gentleman if I just let you carry them all the way up to your room." I rolled my eyes.

Heidi, who and turned to leave when he came towards us, stopped at the door, and turned back to me. "Bella, you don't have to cover me anymore. And I'm sure Aro would get kinda annoyed when he finds he can't see my mind next morning."

"Sorry. I kinda forgot I was doing it." I said, letting my shield fall from around her.

She smiled. "Thanks." Then, she disappeared out the door.

"Come on." I said to Santiago, and headed towards the door. He followed after me.

"So, what did you girls talk about as you shopped?" He asked me as we made the way up to my room.

I rolled my eyes, yet again. "Just.. stuff."

"Oh… Really? Stuff? That sound so interesting." He said, his voice filled with sarcasm.

I laughed. "I know."

We made it to my room, and he set the bags down by the wardrobe before going over and sitting down on my bed. I started going through the bags, putting them away. I could feel his eyes on my back, and was waiting for him to say something. After I finished putting three bags away, I decided to start a conversation.

"So, what did you do while I was gone?" I asked.

"I spoke with Aro." He said.

"About what?"

"Stuff." He said. I sighed, and turned around to see him smiling at me. I took a couple steps towards him.

"Really? Stuff? That sounds so interesting." I said, repeating what he had said just a couple minutes before.

"Yep." he said, smiling. He reached out, and grabbed my hands, pulling me to him. I think he intended to pull me down on his lap, but I kissed him before he could. He seemed surprised at fist, not kissing me back, but then he did, and we fell backwards onto my bed.

--

**okay, i know it took me forever to update, but i have a good excuse. I was working on my other story, and wrote the last two chapters, therefor finsihing the story. So, now I have more time to work on Weak, as several people pointed out to me in their reviews.**

**So, please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

I was still making out with Santiago on my bed when my phone rang, a couple minutes after we had laid down. We both froze, and I sighed against Santiago's lips.

"I think your boobs ringing." He said, and chuckled against my lips. I rolled my eyes, and pulled back. I rolled over to my back, and sat up when I saw who it was.

"You know, you have horrible timing." I said. Santiago chuckled quietly, and I reached over and hit him to get him to be quiet.

"Why? I didn't interrupt something, did I?" Alice asked.

"No, I was just…talking with someone." I said. Santiago started chuckling again, louder this time. I held the phone between my head, and shoulder, and shoved Santiago off my bed with both hands. He hit the ground with a thud. I held back a laugh.

"What was that?" Alice asked.

"Somebody just fell." I said.

"You pushed me." Santiago said.

"What?" Alice asked, sounding confused.

"Nothing Alice." I said, giggling. "So, what's up? Is everybody okay?"

"We're all fine Bella. Jazz, and I are actually hunting. I was juts wondering when you were going to come home." Alice said. "I really miss you."

"I miss you, too. I miss you all. But, I can't leave yet. I've only been here two days. And, something came up." I said, playing with the hem of my dress. "I'll explain when I get home."

"Okay, Bella. But, please, don't be too long. We all really want you to just come home."

"You didn't tell them, did you?" I asked.

"No, but I really want to." She said.

"Please, Alice. I'll come home when I can. I really miss you." I said.

"Miss you too, Bella. Bye." She said before hanging up. I sighed, and hung up. I was staring at my phone, which I was still holding in my hand, when Santiago wrapped his arms around me.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I just really miss them, that's all." I said, standing up. I walked over to the open wardrobe, and started to put the rest of my clothes away.

"I'm gonna go, and give you some time to yourself, okay?" Santiago said, walking over to me.

"Santiago…" I started, but I let it trail off when he kissed me on the cheek, and flitted out through my door. I sighed, and turned back to my clothes.

Once I had finished putting them away, and stacked my bags up by the door, putting the clothes they had found me in in them, I walked over to the window seat, the one that looked over the city, and sat down. I watched as a few late night shoppers made their way through the square, and to the buildings, or sidewalks surrounding it.

I really did miss my family. Years had gone by since I had last seen them, but, for some reason, I couldn't make myself go back yet. Something, or somebody was holding me here, keeping from wanting to go. But, I wasn't sure who is was: Santiago, or Edward?

And why did Alice expect me to go back so quickly? I had only been here two days, and she already sounded worried that I wasn't going to come back to the family. Did she really think that I would come here, and tell them that I wasn't going to join them, and leave? I really though that Alice had known me better than to expect that I would just tell them no, and leave.

What if she had had a vision in the short period that I had had my shield down? Did she see something happening to me? Maybe she saw me not ever coming home, but joining the Volturi. I could be sure, though. Too many maybe's and what if's were floating around.

I would just have to wait to see what the future held for me…

--

I sat there for about an hour, just thinking and watching the people in the city. I was guessing it was around two in the morning when I got up, and left the window, there not being any more people for me to watch. I walked over to my wardrobe, pulled out my clothes for the day, and stripped out of my dress, and wedges.

I pulled on black straight legs, and a black tank top. Over that I put on a red plaid button up shirt, and my red converse on my feet. I let my hair down, and brushed it out. Then, I got out one stick of the eyeliner Heidi got for me, and put a little of it on, using the mirror on the door inside door of the wardrobe.

Once I finished, I walked over to the window that looked over the garden, and opened it. I leaned out, and gazed down below me. There was a path I hadn't yet followed right below my window. I climbed up onto the edge of the window, then I pushed myself out, and let myself fall. I twisted in air as I fell so that I was facing the building. I hit the ground, my heels absorbing the impact. I was right in front of Santiago's window, just as I planned.

I looked in, but didn't see him. I leaned across the small rose bushes that were below the window, and tapped on it. No answer. I sighed, and ran my fingers along the window, grabbing at the small line where they met. To my luck they were unlocked and I could easily pull them open without breaking anything. I jumped up onto the window ledge, then into his room,. I pulled the windows shut before looking around the room, conforming that he wasn't in here.

I left his room, deciding to just walk around the castle, maybe see if I could find him, or Aro, or somebody. I left the hallway that the guard's rooms were in, and made my way towards the throne room. I had just reached where the corridor splits, one way leading to where I was going, another a path I hadn't ever gone down, when I could hear his voice.

"… could have gotten in if I didn't catch him. Do you know what that would have meant? Somebody could have died because of you! We all know that you don't deserve to be a member of the guard, but that doesn't mean you have to let others know too." He said. I froze, listening.

Apparently, I had just caught the end of the conversation for I heard footsteps, one pair coming my way, and another going away from me, and through a door. The red headed girl I had seen on my first night here flew around the corner, running away from there. I assumed that Edward had been the one to go the other way, and through the door.

I decided to go the way that the girl had come from. I turned around the corner, and walked up to a door on the left hand side. I could heard quiet murmurs from inside, but I couldn't make them out. I pushed the door open, and entered a room I had never seen before. All of the guard, except for that girl, Felix, and Santiago were in there. They were standing around the walls, Caius, and Marcus standing near another wall. In the middle of the room was Aro, and a vampire down on his knees before him. The door had just shut when Aro reached out, and grabbed the mans head. Then, he twisted it, and with a sickening screeching noise it came off in his hands. He let the head fall from his hands to the floor, and Demetri, and Edward came forward. They tore the rest of the body apart, and piled it up in the middle of the room. Edward lit a match, and dropped it on the pile of body parts. The quickly caught, sending up purple smoke.

Aro, Marcus, Caius, Renata, and two females who I assumed were the wives headed towards a door on the opposite side of the room. Mot of the others made towards the door I was still standing in front of. I stepped out of their way. Some others, including Edward, stayed to watch the body burn, and watch the smoke go up, and out through a skylight.

Aro, who was the last of the six to leave the room saw me standing by the door. "Bella, dear, why don't you come with us, and have a chat? I would love to talk with you some more." He said, smiling. I smiled back at him, and made my way across the room. As I passed Edward, I could feel his eyes on me, but I refused to look at him. Not after what I had just heard from him outside the room.

I followed Aro, and the others down several halls into a room that reminded me of the throne room, but was smaller, and had several more chairs. There was also a couple of tables around the edge of the room. Caius and one of the female sat a little farther away from us. Marcus went to a door on the other side of the room, and left, seeming to be in no hurry like the others around here. Aro, and the other wife took seats near the center of the room, and I sat close by them. Renata had been standing close behind, but Aro dismissed her.

"Bella, this is Sulpicia." Aro said, introducing me to his wife.

I smiled politely at her. "Hello." I said. She simply nodded her head, not bothering to say anything in return to me.

"Athenodora is there with Caius." He said, pointing to the female who Caius was talking to. She smiled at me, and I returned it.

"What of Marcus?" I asked. "Does he not have a wife?"

A strange look came over Aro's face. He seemed sad, yet satisfied at the same time. "Didyme, his wife, and my sister perished some time ago, when we were still young." Aro said to me. Sulpicia looked away quickly. I got the feeling that Didyme's death wasn't what it seemed to others.

"That's horrible." I said. They both looked at me.

"Yes, I know. She was such a joy to us all." Aro said. Sulpicia reached over and took his hand. He looked at her, giving her a small smile, and she returned it.

I felt a pang in my chest at their show of compassion. It had reminded me of how Edward, and I use dot be, before he left me. I was happy with Santiago, but it just wasn't the same as when I was with Edward. My heart wasn't completely his. I always feel guilty after kissing Santiago, thinking that I'm cheating Edward. But, I have to remind myself that he has Heidi, that he's happy, without me. I have to remind myself that it's okay to be happy with somebody else.

--

**Sorry if there's any spelling mistakes, but my spell check is down right now for some reason. ****Come on you guys, please review! I only got one review last time! Please!**


	10. Chapter 10

I talked to Aro for hours. Despite having heard every single one of my thoughts the other day, he wanted to know more about me, my dad, and the Cullens. In return he told me several of his own stories. I learned that Aro was the oldest of the trio, but Marcus was physically the oldest. Sulpicia, and Athendora were the oldest vampires there. Didyme was just older than Aro, and they were changed at the same time.

Aro, who I could tell enjoyed telling me his own stories, seemed to much rather enjoy hearing me tell him about what I could remember o f my human life, or about the places I had traveled after I left the Cullens. Also, he wanted to know how I was getting along with everybody here.

When I had asked him about why he asked me to tell him stories that he had already heard in my thoughts, he told me that he couldn't feel the emotions that went with the thoughts. He doesn't know what caused the thoughts, only the thoughts themselves. Listening to somebody tell him the story usually portrays emotion, and people usually tend to explain something while speaking. But, when their thinking, they have no reason to think the reason for something because they already know.

I was talking with Aro, and Sulpicia about the gardens when Santiago found us. "Bella! I've been looking for you." Santiago said, walking over to us. He put his hands on my shoulders, and I gave him a smile.

"Bella, dear, it has been simply joyous talking to you. We must do this again." Aro said, giving me leave.

"I agree, Aro. We will." I said as I stood up. I saw that when Santiago took my hand, Aro's grin grew, almost in a smug. Santiago seemed to have noticed too, for he pulled me away, and towards the door.

"Where were you?" I asked Santiago as we walked through the halls. "I was looking for you earlier."

"Somebody slipped past one of the guards, and killed a couple humans in the city. Felix, and I were sent out to do guard duty while they took care of him." Santiago said, not looking at me.

"Yes, I saw that. I happened to come upon them just as they killed him." I said. "That's how Aro, and I go to talking. He saw me, and asked me to come with them for a chat."

"Oh, okay then." He said.

We walked on in silence, heading towards his room, I assumed. We were just getting ready to turn into the guard's corridor when he brought my hand up to his mouth, and kissed it. It was so unexpected ,but sweet. I turned my head so that I was looking at him. He twisted my hand to the side, and ran his thumb over the side of my wrist.

"What's that from?" He asked, running his thumb over the faint scar there.

"That? It's from when I was human." I said, leaning back against the wall. Santiago was still looking at my hand.

"Human? Oh… you mean your change?" He asked, looking up at my face.

"No, I mean when I was human. This, "I said, gesturing to a faint mark at the base of my neck, "is where Carlisle had bitten me."

"How did you get this then?" Santiago asked me, sounding confused.

"It's long story." I said, smiling at him.

He returned the smile. "I've got time."

"I guess you're right." I slide down the wall, and pulled him down next to me.

"I told you I was a danger magnet, right?" I asked him. He nodded.

"Okay. Well, when I was still human, and with Edward, three nomad vampires had come to Forks. I had been with Edward for a couple months then, and this was the first time I would meet his family as his girlfriend.

"So I went to their house, and met everybody. Carlisle, and Esme, the 'parents' of the house, were very kind for me. I spent some time there with the, before I headed back home with Edward so that I could put on something much more suitable to play baseball in, and so that my dad, Charlie, could meet Edward. He found it amusing that I was going to watch them play baseball because I was such a klutz.

"When we got there, and got started, everything was going fine. I sat with Esme on the sides, watching them play, and calling them out. Alice, who can see the future, had a vision of three nomads coming. The family tensed, and we all stood to the side, waiting for them to come.

"I remember this part very clearly." I said. It was true. Everything that had happened that night, and the following couple days was very clear in my head for a human memory. "There was three of them, James, their leader, and a tracker, his mate Victoria, and Laurent.

"They saw that I was a human, and apparently I smelt very good to all of them." Santiago chuckled lowly at that, and I smiled at him. "James wanted me. He was determined to get me, to kill me. He made a game out of it. I had to run from him.

"I told my dad that I was leaving Forks going back to Phoenix to live with my mom. Edward helped me pack a bag, and we headed back to the Cullen house. I told him goodbye then, not knowing if I would ever see him again. Alice, and her mate Jasper were going to drive me down to Phoenix.

"I didn't hear anything from Edward for a day or two while we were in the hotel in Phoenix. He, and some of the others were supposed to be following James, and were trying to kill him. He called, and said that he was coming down to Phoenix to get me so that we could run together.

"But, I had gotten another phone call. I thought it was from my mom, for the first voice I heard was hers, but it turned out it was James. He was there in Phoenix. I thought he had my mom, but it was really just a tape he found at our her house. He told me that if I wanted to save her, I would have to follow his instructions. I would have to come to him, alone.

"When we went to the airport to meet Edward, I left. I told Alice I needed to use the bathroom ,but had Japer come with me because he's an empath. I told her I didn't want to freak out, that he would keep me calm. I managed to go out the other exist while he was waiting for me outside the bathroom. I got outside, and got at taxi, heading straight to my mom's house. When there, I got more instructions, and headed to an old ballet studio that I used to have lessons at to meet James. I was sure I was heading to my death."

"Bella," Santiago said quietly, "if you though t you were going to die, why did you go? Do you not value your life?"

"I do, but I thought he had my mom, Santiago. I didn't want her to loose her life because of me. And I knew that he was experienced. He could have caught up with the Cullens, and hurt or killed one of them. I loved them too much to have let that happened."

"Oh." He said quietly. "Go on, then."

"Well, I met him there ,and found out he didn't have my mom. He wanted to play with before he killed me, filming my last moments. I also found out that he was the reason Alice was a vampire. We had never known because she couldn't remember any of her human life.

"By the time Edward got there I already had a broken leg, and as bleeding badly. Him, and James fought. While Edward was distracted, James came back to me. He bit my wrist, and started feeding off of me. But, before he could finish, Edward ripped him off of me.

"Carlisle, Alice, Jasper and Emmett arrived then. Alice, Jasper, and Emmett took care of James while Carlisle and Edward tended to me.

"Edward had two choices. He could either let the venom spread, therefore turning me into a vampire, or he could attempt to suck the venom out of my blood. Carlisle told him he didn't have a lot of time before it would be too late. I could already feel the burn in my arm.

"He chose to attempt to suck the venom out. At that point he told me it was because he didn't want to risk my soul, he didn't want to damn me. But now I question that. I believe he didn't let it spread for not wanting me around forever.

"He managed to suck it all out. He almost couldn't stop, but did. I don't know why he did, or how he did, but he did. I passed out them, fro ma lack of blood. I wok up several days later in a hospital. The story was that I had fallen down a flight of stairs."

"Wow…" Santiago said. I leaned my head on his shoulder.

"I know."

"Do you know what happened to the other two?" Santiago asked. I pulled my head up, and looked at him.

"Yeah. Laurent came back ad tried to kill me. That was when I was still alone, before Alice came back. He would have killed me if it wasn't for the pack. And-"

"The pack?"

"Yeah. The La Push men are werewolves. Well, shape-shifters, I guess you would say. The presence of vampires causes them to phase. We're their mortal enemies. But, one of them was my best friend. He helped put me back together."

"The vampires leave, and the wolves descend…" Santiago murmured. I smiled.

"As I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me." I said, faking a glare at Santiago. " After Alice, and I got back from here, the whole family moved back. I spent a lot of time at their house, but it wasn't the same. We were all in mourning.

"Victoria, as I had known, was out to kill me. Edward killed her mate, so she wanted to kill his. She never did know that I wasn't his, though. She came back one day, with some new 'friends' that she had created. Alice hadn't seen them coming, so when they attacked while the Cullens, and I were relaxing at their house, we were completely surprised.

"They fought it out in the meadow that their house was in. Their was enough newborns to keep the Cullens busy while Victoria tended to me. She wanted my death to be slow, and painful, so she tortured me. She took too long though. Jasper managed to get her off of me when only two newborns remained. She got away before they could do anything to her.

"I was fatally injured. My spine was broken, therefore I couldn't move, or feel really. I was bleeding on the outside, and inside. Carlisle had no options, really. Change me, or let me die. They all knew that I wanted to become a vampire, and join their family, even with Edward gone. So, he bit me. A couple days after my change, I left them." Santiago didn't say anything at first, but I heard, and felt him growl.

Just then I heard a door open, and shut, then footsteps coming our way.

--

Edward's Point of View

Heidi had come to tell me that Aro wished to speak to me before heading out to guard duty. I was just about ready to go see him when I heard _them _down the hall, towards his room, I assumed. I stood behind my closed door, listening to them. His thoughts were shielded from me, so I couldn't be exactly sure of what they were doing.

"What's that from?" Santiago asked. They had stopped.

"That? It's from when I was human." Bella answered him. I knew immediately what they were talking about then. Her scar, the one that James had given her. Heidi had seen it the other day, but didn't ask any questions.

"Human? Oh… you mean your change?" He asked. I stood still, listening.

"No, I mean when I was human. This, is where Carlisle had bitten me." So, it was Carlisle that had changed her. He knew how I felt about changing her, and he still did it.

"How did you get this then?" Santiago asked.

"It's long story." She said. I could practically hear the smile in her voice.

"I've got time."

I listened silently, not even breathing, as she told him about how she got her scar. The memory was crystal clear in my head, and it played over as she told the story. The only difference was that this was from her point of view, and filled me in on some things I hadn't known. Like that she slipped by Jasper through the other exit.

When she spoke of me not letting the venom spread because I wouldn't her around forever, my heart gave a pang. I had to remind myself that I didn't love her anymore, that I loved Heidi. The part of my mind, the one part that was still the old me, argued against that but was quickly silenced. I wasn't that vampire anymore, I didn't love Bella.

I had to stop myself from growling out loud when she mentioned Victoria. A low one slipped past my lips, but it seemed that they didn't hear me for Santiago had growled then, too. I decided that I had heard enough, and opened my door. I heard them stiffen as I walked towards them.

I found them sitting against the wall, holding hands, and shot them a glare as I flipped the hood on my cloak up.

_You know, Edward, you don't always have to be such an ass. You didn't always used to be this way._ I heard in my head. I stopped when I realized that it was Bella. She had dropped her shield for a second.

"That may be true, Isabella," I said, "but this is who I am know. That is the past."

"I liked the old you a lot better." Bella said quietly. I didn't dare to look back at her.

"I never loved you. Bella. And, I never will love you. Just give me up." I spat, then, I continued on down the hall.

--

**Longest chapter! I know it's still not that long, but it is for me! Hope you liked it, even though it really was just ta filler!**

**Oh, yeah, I thought you guys should know that I have a surprise planned for you in the near future. Really think it'll get some emotion out of you guys. ;)**

**please, please, review! I got two reviews last chapter, and only one before that! I would really appreciate it if you guys would give me at least five reviews for this chapter! Please!!**


	11. Chapter 11

**I was one review short of geeting 5 reviews! You guys, what the hell? **

Heart beating wildly, locked in a cage.  
Consumed by the fire, consumed by the rage.  
Throwing itself against the barren walls.  
Screams echoing loudly through the empty halls.  
Starving and lonely, it cries to be saved.  
Wondering how long it will be enslaved.  
A slave to hatred and a slave to depression.  
Wondering why it has become Death's new obsession.  
It sits there and waits for help to come.  
How does it feel, this thing called freedom?  
It lays there, silent, on the cold stony floors.  
Thinking of the ocean and the cool sandy shores.  
It can't really remember what it's like to be free.  
To walk without sorrow, to be filled with glee.  
What is it like to not be afraid?  
What is it like to not be betrayed?  
What is it like to not feel the blade bite?  
What is it like for a heart to take flight?  
How much longer must it bare all of this pain?  
How much longer will it take to be driven insane?

**HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!  
**

Alice's Point of View

I couldn't hold it in anymore I had to tell somebody about the Volturi catching up with Bella. Oh course, Jasper already knew something was bothering me, so I told him.

That was two weeks, ago, a couple days after I had last talked to Bella. I hadn't called her since then, and hadn't seen anything either. Of course the last didn't surprise me. Why would Bella want to take her shield down? I hadn't wanted to bother her by calling everyday, but I couldn't resist it anymore. I finished my prey, and jumped up into the tree next to me. I pulled out my phone, and could her Jasper making his way towards me.

I had just flipped open my phone, when a vision came over me. As I watched the vision, the phone slipped out of my hands, and clattered to the ground. Jasper jumped up in the tree, and wrapped his arms around me as I pulled out of it, and started shaking.

"What did you see, Alice?" Jasper asked, rubbing my arms, and sending calming waves my way, which weren't helping.

"Edward…he…he…" I started, but I couldn't finish. I started sobbing.

"Alice…Edward's dead. We both know that."

"No," I said, pulling my head up. "he's not. That bastard lied to us! He's still alive! And he's gonna…but maybe not…" I started mumbling quietly to myself.

"He's going to what, Alice?" Jasper asked after a moment of silence.

"He's going to kill her Or maybe not. He hasn't decided yet. She's pinned. And it's too late." I choked out.

"What?" Jasper said alarmed.

"And, she still loves him, after all this time."

--

Bella's Point of View

Time in Volterra just seemed to fly by. Before I knew it, two weeks had one by. But I didn't care, because for once In a long time, I was happy.

Santiago and I spent almost all of our time together. The only time we weren't together was when he was doing guard duty, or when Aro wanted to experiment with my power. Other than that, we were inseparable.

Aro approached me one day, telling me he was curious of my power. He knew that I could expand my shield to others, and that I could completely drop it, but he wanted to know more about it. Like how long could I hold it before I would become too drained, or how many people could I fit under it. He was also curious of what exactly it could block.

I could hold it for as long as I wanted, I knew that. When I had first discovered it, I couldn't hold it up very long without becoming drained. But, I found a source that pushed me to keep it up, to not have to think about keeping it up. My family.

As for how many I could fit under it, I don't really think there was a limit. I drew power from them, from the light they gave off while under my shield. As long as they were close enough, I could keep them under my shield with me. But, if someone was too far away, I couldn't get a proper hold on them. Like I couldn't protect my family while in Volterra. I could probably only protect those in Volterra, and just out of it.

None of the guard could effect anyone under my shield, unless I allowed them to. I could keep someone covered from mental attacks, but leave them open to physical, or vise versa, or both. We weren't exactly sue how other powers would effect me though. Like with Victoria. She had a sense for escaping danger, that's how she kept slipping away from the Cullens, and the pack. Would she still be able to run from me, or would I be able to follow her more easily than others? We had no way to test it.

I was leaving Santiago's room, getting ready to go hunt. It had been over two weeks since I last hunted, so I really needed to go. Santiago should have been heading back from guard duty for the others were getting

ready to feed too. But I would not be joining them. I was going into the woods, a couple miles away. I had tried to get Santiago to come with me, but he said that animals smelled funny, and would rather stick with humans.

I left Santiago's room at the same time that Edward left his room, the one with the piano in it. He glanced at me leaving Santiago's room, and rolled his eyes. Something inside me snapped, and I narrowed my eyes t him.

"What?" I snapped at him. "What is your problem?"

He raised his eyebrows. "What makes you think I have a problem?" He asked, his voice cold.

"The way you treat me, and everyone else! You walk around here like you own this place, like everyone should be afraid of you!" I shouted.

"They should be."

"No, they shouldn't! They should have to watch their every thought! Everyone deserves to have the privacy of their mind, and here you are invading it, causing all of these people have to worry about every little thing they say, or do!"

"They shouldn't be having certain thoughts in the first place. And if you don't like it, then maybe you should do something about it." He said, his voice slightly mocking at the end. I could tell he just expected me to storm right past him, or maybe to turn around, and go back into Santiago's room like I would have as a human.

"God, you're such and ass. And maybe I will." I said, glaring at him. He snorted in disbelief and that did it.

I lunged.

This time there was no one from stopping me from slamming into him. He skidded backwards but didn't loose his balance. He hissed at me, his hands meeting mine, which had been going for his neck. He swung me around, and flung me into wall. I slammed into with a bang, but shockingly the wall didn't break.

"Do you honestly think that you could do any damage to me?" Edward sneered, coming closer. "Did you forget who I am?"

I realized with a start that he was right. Here I was, young, by vampire standards, taking on a vampire who was over a hundred years old. I had never given much thought to why all of the other vampires were afraid of Edward. I had thought that it was simply because he knew their every thought, and that he was Aro's favorite. I had thought that vampires like Santiago, and Felix, who were bigger than him could take him if they wanted. But it was clear to me as he wrapped his hand around my neck, pulling me up from the ground which I had slid down onto, why they were afraid of him.

He's lethal.

The look that he gave me, his eyes black, and a cruel smile on his face, truly made him look like a vampire. My eyes bore into his, pleading for him to let me go. But all he did was laugh at me. I took my chance then.

I swung my foot up while he was still laughing, and kicked him right in the gut. I had been hoping that I would take him by surprise, and make him lose his hold on me, giving me some more time. But, it didn't. I managed the take him by surprise and knock him backwards. He didn't let go of me, though. His grip tightened on my throat, making it impossible to breathe. Before he could completely recover, I swung my foot out again, kicking him. He lost his hold that time, getting knocked back another couple feet, but his nails scrapped some of my skin off of my neck. I could already feel the venom rushing there to heal the wounds.

I was about to crouch back down like Edward had when a thought came to mind. Why was I doing this? The man that I was fighting was my whole reason for being, so why fight back? If he doesn't want me, then what reason do I have for existing? Sure, I loved Santiago, but it couldn't compare to the love I had for Edward. And the family, well, I'm not really a member of their family. I'm not a Cullen, and never will be. I haven't seen any of them in seven years, so they shouldn't miss me that much. They can all get over me.

I dropped my shield, only keeping my mind covered. I was hoping that Alice would see this, and know that she didn't need to worry anymore. She, and the others deserved to know the truth.

"What are you waiting for?" I asked him. His eyes narrowed as I straightened up. "Get it over with."

"If you think that I'm not going to kill you just because you don't fight back, then your wrong." Edward growled out, slinking closer to me.

He stuck, grabbing my by the neck, and pinning me to the ground. His grip on my neck was slowly tightening, and I did nothing to try to get away.

"You know, I still love you." I managed to get out just before he had completely blocked off my windpipe.

His eyes softened for a brief moment, and I saw my love in them, reflected back at me. The old Edward was still caged in there somewhere. He seemed to have known what I saw for he growled at me, and brought his teeth down to my neck.

"I'm going to kill you, and I'm going to do it know." He breathed against my neck. I felt him move his teeth closer so that they were grazing the side of my neck. I could feel his hand shaking on my neck, his grip slowly becoming looser. He again to seemed to realize what was going on, and his grip on my neck moved down a little, and became stronger. The shaking stopped. He brought his head close to mine again, and I was sure that was it, the end.

And, I was glad.

--

**MWAHAHAHAHA! XD sorry, couldn't help but do the evil laugh.**

**now, you guys ,I would really like to get at least FIVE reviews! Five is not that much!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Yeah, I know, this chapter sucks. But, it was unplanned, for I intended to take a different route, but you guys screwed it up. I will explain at the bottom.**

**Also, I am sorry if there is a spot of third person somewhere, for i found that I was constantly typing in it, even though i have never written third before.**

**--**

Jasper had managed to convince to get out of the tree, and go back to tell the others of what had befallen our dear Bella. That she had met her end by our 'dead' brother. The traitor.

We sat in the living room, waiting for everyone to arrive, and settle so that we could tell them of my vision. I would have rather not. I knew that if I never told them, then they would have figured it out from my demeanor. But, Jasper wanted me to tell them, and so I would.

It was just when everybody had settled that I was overcome with another vision.

Dark cloaks, two of them, standing in our own back yard. It was clear that they were male and female, for one of the figures was larger than the other, and they held hands. They stood, gazing at us for a moment before, as if beckoned, they moved forward. Only two dark shoes showed from under the larger figure, the male, but as the female walked a pair of long, white legs were exposed, a pair of black pumps on her feet. Then, after moving maybe five yards, they froze, facing us.

I pulled out of the vision to find everyone's eyes on me. I turned to look at Jasper, and he had an expression of hope on his face. I knew that he was hoping that this vision had contradicted my previous one. With a sigh, I turned away from him, and towards the family.

"The Volturi are coming." I said quietly. Emmett growled lowly.

"What do they want?" He hissed. He, like most of the others, was still unhappy about what they did to Edward. Or, what we though they did.

"They bring news of Bella." I said quietly. I heard a soft gasp come from Esme.

"Is she with them? Did they find her?" She asked, gripping Carlisle's hand.

"Yes, they found her weeks ago. I talked to her, but she wished me not to tell you." I bowed my head, dreading what I must tell them. "No, she is not with them."

"Then what news do they bring? Why does she not come with them?" Carlisle asked, leaning forward a bit.

"The bring the news of Bella's death."

--

I closed my eyes, waiting for my end to come. I felt his teeth press into the side of my neck, breaking the skin. He started pulling his teeth across, ripping my neck about halfway through. He was halfway across when he suddenly froze.

Then, he was gone.

I reached up with my hands, putting them to the part of my neck that had been ripped open. It burned, reminding me of the feeling of changing, but not as intense. I closed my eyes, trying not to think of how much it hurt. I could feel the venom running out of it, and sticking to my hands.

"Bella!" I heard somebody shout. I clenched my eyes shut tighter against the ringing in my ears that resulted from their shout. I felt somebody grab hold of my hands, and I let them pull them away from my neck. I felt a drop of venom drip off my hand and onto my chest.

I heard a sharp intake of breath, a low growl, and somebody murmur, "Oh my god…"

I slowly opened my eyes. Santiago was leaning over me, looking at my neck. I could tell from the expression on his face that he was the one who had said the 'oh my god…' I could hear two people behind me, but couldn't move myself to see who it was.

"Bella," Santiago said, seeing I had opened my eyes, and was looking at him. His voice was pained. "Who did this to you?"

I found that I couldn't say anything, but only make a low moaning noise. Santiago made a quiet, pained noise, and swept me up gently into his arms. I heard a couple small pebbles fall out of my hair. He made sure my head was resting gently on his shoulder, before turning to face the others that I had heard, Felix, and Demetri.

"I'm going to take her up to her room. I want you two to go get Aro." He said, looking at them. Not taking their eyes off of me, they both nodded. Santiago rushed past them, them still standing where they had been when he turned the corner.

When he reached my door, he kicked the door open with his foot. He pulled the covers back on my bed with one hand, still holding me with is other. Then, he laid me down, making sure my head was propped up on the pillows. He pulled the covers back over me, and sat down next to me bed, running his hand over my head.

"Santiago, what happened?" I heard Aro say from the doorway. I saw Santiago turn his head to look at Aro, but couldn't see him myself.

"Bella, sir. She was attacked." Santiago said quietly.

I heard Aro take a couple steps closer. I could see him standing just a bit away from the edge of my bed, looking down at me. "By who?" He asked quietly, although I was sure he knew already.

"Edward's scent was all over her, and around her." Santiago said, his voice cold.

"I feared so." Aro said sadly. He set his hand on mine, which was sitting in my lap. "May I see what happened, child?"

I pulled my shield tighter around me, bringing it all back to me, even exposing Santiago. I didn't want him to find a way around it so he could see what was running through my head as I attacked Edward, or when he was about to kill me. I didn't want him to know that I wanted him to kill me.

I watched as Aro's brows furrowed, frustrated that I wouldn't show him. He sighed and pulled his hand away just as Santiago reached out to grab my other hand.

"Santiago, we are getting ready to feed. You wouldn't want to be late." Aro said before turning to leave. Santiago looked at me, worry in his eyes. I saw how black his eyes were, and mouthed 'go' to him.

"Are you sure?" He asked me quietly. I gave him a smile. He gave me a small smile in return, kissed my forehead, and walked with Aro out of my room.

I settled back into my pillows a little more. I reached up to my neck, and ran my fingers gently across where he had ripped at my neck. It didn't burn as much as did anymore. I could tell that it was almost done healing from the way it felt, and from the fact that the pain was just a low burn.

I noticed that something didn't feel right, and ran my hand along my neck again. I realized what it was. My locket was gone. I let a low groan out, and covered my eyes with my hand, which still had some of my venom on it.

I knew that it had gotten torn off while Edward and I were fighting. I was too focused on him to even think about it. Had he ripped it off on purpose, or did he not even realize that he had?

I pushed myself up into a sitting position. I moved my head left, and right, making sure I could move it okay. It gave a little burn at the movement, but other than that it was okay. I kicked the covers back, and slowly stood up. I walked over to the wardrobe, pulled out some black sweats, and left my room.

I headed downstairs, and towards the shower room I had found a couple days ago. I got in one of the showers, and turned the water on as hot as it could go. It burned, but it felt so good to me. It helped to relax my muscles, and washed all the dried venom off of me. It also got all of the dirt, dust, and debris that had gotten on me off.

Once I had finished, I stepped out, dried off, and got dressed in the black sweats I had brought. I put my shoes back on, pulled my hair back, and left the room, my other clothes in my hand. I deposited those clothes in my room when I reached it, and left Santiago a note, letting him know that I was going hunting. I opened my window, and leapt from it.

Once I had gotten a good way into the small woods that were a bit behind the fortress, I realized I didn't know if I was allowed to hunt there or not. I decided to head out a bit, leaving the city. I headed out a bit, nearer to the more quiet parts in that area. Once I had taken down a couple animals, and had gotten my fill, I headed back.

I went slower on my way back, admiring the view. It was later than I had thought, twilight. I had to stop, and take a deep breath when I thought that, for a memory had drifted to the front of my mind. I blocked it out, and continued on my way back.

I walked slowly through the garden, admiring it's beauty in the dark. Fireflies flashed here and there, among the flowers. With sadness ,I realized that they would be going away soon, for it was nearing fall again. Summer was coming to close, and I had wasted most of it away.

When I neared Santiago's window, I could see him sitting on the couch, gazing out the window. When he saw me coming, he smiled, and got up. He opened the window just as I reached, and I leaped in, landing right next to him. He pulled me into his arms, and kissed my forehead. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and stretched up on my toes to kiss him.

"How's your neck?" He asked when the kiss ended. I smiled at him as he led me over to where he had been sitting.

"It feels fine." I said as we sat down. He ran a finger over my neck. "How bad is the scar?"

He sighed. "Pretty bad."

I nuzzled my head into the crook of his neck. "I figured so."

After a moment of Santiago rubbing my arm, I spoke again. "I suppose I should go see Aro, shouldn't I?"

He sighed. "Yes, he does wish to speak with you about what had happened."

We got up, and headed out his door. When we reached where I had attacked Edward, I saw that it had all been cleared up, the only thing remaining was a small notch in the wall where I had been rammed into the wall. We continued past it, neither one of us speaking. After what seemed an eternity, we reached the throne room, where Aro was waiting.

"Bella, I trust you are feeling better?" Aro asked as I entered the room.

"Yes, I feel perfectly fine now. Thank you." I replied giving him a small smile.

"Bella, I am-" Aro begun, but I cut him off.

"I know what you are going to say Aro, and I will not tell you anymore than what I did earlier. I know I am not the only one who you can get the story from. So, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't bring it up. I don't wish to recall what happened earlier." I said truthfully.

"Well then, what do you wish to do?" Aro asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice. He raised his eyebrows.

"I wish to go home."

--

**Okay, so last chapter was something that one of my favorite fanfic authors used ot do. It's called a trick chapter. You put them up on Halloween, and April Fools. You guys really seemed to like it, though, so I decided to keep it as an actual chapter. So, my whole plot got fucked up. Pardon me.**

**Please, review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**There seemed to be a little bit of confusion with the last chapter. Hope this clears it up!**

**--**

"Home?" Aro asked, looking at me. I nodded. He sighed. "Well, I should have seen it coming, young one. Of course you can go home."

I gave him a small smile. "Thank you. But I feel so bad for imposing on you for so long. Is there any way that I could pay you back?" I asked him, truly meaning my words.

"You do not owe us Bella. It was a pleasure having you here. We enjoy having our guests here, some more than others." Aro said, flashing his eyes at Santiago. If it were possibly, I would have blushed for him. But, there was something else, something hidden in his tone of voice. I had just barely caught it.

"But, you won't leave us just quiet yet, Bella? Stay with us another day, talk, and then leave under the cover of darkness tomorrow." Aro asked of me.

I gave him a small smile. "Of course I will."

Aro and the others sat down in the chairs at what seemed to be the front of the room. "Good. So, what shall we talk about?"

--

We talked, and talked and talked. It was never about one certain thing, the topic changing quickly. We spoke a little of what happened, me unwilling giving out some details to Aro in return for his kindness to me. We also spoke of what I wished to do when reunited with my family. But, more than often, we talked about the most random of things. People came and went from the room, sometimes joining in on our chat.

Aro had just finished telling me of how he, Caius, and Marcus had come to be, when Santiago entered the room, back from an extra long guard duty. "Bella, you need to pack. We're getting ready to leave."

"We're?" I asked, a little confused.

"You didn't think that we would send you out to find your family on your own, did you young one?" Aro asked, looking strangely amused. "Demetri and Santiago will be going with you of course."

"Come on, Bella." Santiago said, grabbing my hand. I stood up, and left the room with him.

Once we reached my room, I made Santiago stay outside so that could change. I opened my wardrobe, planning on wearing my everyday clothes. However, and outfit that Heidi had given me. It was no where near my taste, but I knew Alice would love it. I smiled, grabbed it, and changed into it. Once in it, I put on some heavy black eyeliner, pulled my hair back in a bun, leaving some of my bangs down, covering one eye, and slipped a pair of black pumps on my feet.

"You can come in now." I said, grabbing that bag that Santiago gave me to put what clothes I wanted to take in.

Santiago came in, and froze when he saw me. I smiled as I watched his eyes make their way up from my feet, to the bottom of my black high waisted shorts that I knew would show off a bit of my ass when I bent over. After pausing there for a moment, his eyes continued upwards, to my blouse that that buttons didn't go up high enough for my liking. It barely hid the edge of my bra. Then, he moved upwards so that his eyes landed on my face. I was not comfortable in it, but I knew Santiago liked it, and I knew Alice would approve of it.

"Trying to catch a fly in your mouth?" I asked Santiago after he continued to stare at me. I tried not to laugh as I watch him blink a couple times, and shut his mouth.

"I can not help it when I am in the presence of a beautiful lady." He said smiling. He walked over to me, and wrapped his arms around me to kiss me. I let the kiss last for a couple of moments before I pulled away.

"I need to pack." I said with a smile.

"Must you go?" Santiago asked, not letting go of his hold around my waist.

"I miss them, my family. But I will keep in contact. And I will visit. I could not stay away. But, I need them. Their my family." I said, giving him a small peck on the lips before I maneuvered out of his arms and started packing.

I only packed what clothes I had gotten while on my shopping trip with Heidi. All the clothes she gave me, other than the ones I was wearing, and the clothes that were there, I left. The clothes didn't even fill all of the bag. I put my converse, makeup, and brush on top. I glance back up, and noticed the off white dress I had on the first time that I kissed Santiago. Without even thinking about it, I reached out, folded it, and set it in my bag too. I zipped it shut, and had lifted it up to sling it over my shoulder when Santiago took it from me, and slung it over his own shoulders. I rolled my eyes at him.

"You'll be needing this." H e said, grabbing the grey cloak that still hung in the wardrobe from when I had first arrived. I sighed dramatically, and pulled it over my shoulders. I fastened it, and shut the door of the wardrobe. I turned back to Santiago.

"That looks good on you." H e said with a sly smile. I rolled my eyes at him, yet again.

"Come on." I said, grabbing his hand, and pulling him from my room.

We traveled hand in hand down to where the others were waiting for us in the throne room. The trio and the wives stood waiting for us, as did Demetri.

"Bella," Aro said, taking a step forward, "We are all so sad to see you go."

"Don't worry, I'll visit. And maybe I'll bring Carlisle with me." I said, although I didn't plan on it.

"That would be truly splendid. I wish to see my old friend again." He replied with a smile. I returned the smile.

"Bella, Santiago, we must be off if you wish to reach there before too late." Demetri said quietly.

"Goodbye. Thank you all for your hospitality." I said quietly. Aro just nodded his head in return, the smile still on his face.

Santiago and I turned to follow Demetri out of the room. As we passed the trio, I noted that Marcus was standing a couple feet away from the others, and studying me with a strange expression. His eyes kept flitting to mine, and Santiago's entwined hands. Before, he had never paid me any attention.

"Be careful." He said so quietly that I barely caught it. His voice was dead, no emotion to it. It reminded me of my 'zombie state'. I wanted to ask him what I needed to be careful f, but thought better of it, and nodded my head to him. He inclined his slightly in return.

"Goodbye Bella." I heard Aro say softly as the doors swung shut behind us.

--

Marcus's Point of View

"You old fool!" Aro snapped at me as soon as the door had swung shut. He glared at me with an anger that I had seen many times before, never directed my ways, though. I simply stared at him, feeling how small of a connection we had. I had already noted that I had a small connection with everybody, though. Why get close to somebody when they could be gone the next instant…

"Why did you do that? You old fool!" Aro said, taking a step closer. The others said nothing, just simply watched as Aro snapped. There was a look of amusement on Caius's face as he watched this, just as with any other acts of violence, or yelling.

"She deserved a warning." I said quietly. Aro's eyes narrowed.

'Why? Why would somebody like her deserve a warning for anything? She is no-" Aro started. I had heard this rant, but the 'her's' replaced with 'you's' as he spoke with a criminal. I cut him off, though.

"Because, Aro." I said quietly, turning to look out the window. "She has a kind soul. She does not deserve to be with one who does not love her properly. Everybody deserves their soul mate."

I turned back, and glared tat Aro, the first emotion I had shown in a while. "Everyone deserves to have the right person to spend forever with. Bit, some of us will never find that person. Or…we lose them too soon. And, then we have no meaning, no happiness afterwards, for we have lost apart of ourselves." I stopped, and took a breath. "I know that pain, and I know that young Isabella has already gone through it. But, she is lucky. She has been given the second chance that I never got. I think that she deserved to know."

Aro glared at me a moments longer, and I held the gaze. Then, he huffed, and left the room. Caius made a dramatic sigh, and the room emptied as he too left. I turned, and went back to the window, watching the mortals waste their lives away, and reminiscing in stolen moments.

--

Bella's Point of View

As we left the fortress, and made our way down the path, we came across Edward, who was coming back from guard duty. We stopped, and so did he. I could the glint of his hungry black eyes as he stared at me. Before I would have been angered under his gaze, but it did nothing for me anymore, for I had realized something.

Before, I had always thought of myself as the weak one. I couldn't protect the ones close to me, let alone myself. I was always in danger, and never able to do anything about it. So, I guess you could have called me weak.

When I changed, I thought that I wouldn't be weak anymore, but then found that I was wrong once I had awoken to this life. I still thought of myself as weak because I couldn't bare to be around my family. It hurt too much. They were painful reminders of the past. Of him. I used the excuse that the Volturi would be looking for me, which I was right. And they found me.

When I saw that traitor with red eyes, and some else in his arms, I was sure I was the weak one. Because I was so sure that I couldn't get him back, that he still thought of me as the same, clumsy Bella. So that made me weak. That no matter how hard I tried, I would never be strong enough, good enough for him. But I was wrong the whole time.

I've never been the weak one. He has.

--

I had really given thought to how I was going to get back to my family. I hadn't even given thought to how I would find them. Of course we would take the small plane, the same one that I arrived in. And of course Demetri would know where to find them.

Santiago and I sat curled up together on one of the seats. Demetri told us that they were in England, and it wouldn't take more than an hour to reach them. The moon would be nearing middle sky by the time we reached them.

The plane touched down, and Demetri came back to tell us we could go. He wasn't going to come with us, but he told us where to go. He asked that Santiago be back at sunrise the next day. He himself was going to look around town. I had to ask him to please not feed off of anyone.

It didn't take Santiago and I long before we came across their scent. I inhaled it deeply, realizing how much I truly missed my family. I grabbed Santiago's hand, and pulled him along with me, eager to find them.

We came upon the edge of an area where their scent was the strongest. I could see parts of a large house through the trees. I could also hear movement outside of the house. They must have known we were coming.

Santiago set my bag down just inside the tree line. He squeezed my hand as we slowly walked through the trees to meet my family.

--

Carlisle's Point of View

Alice told us that they would be here tonight, so we stood out in the yard waiting. We were all lined up. I knew that there was a good chance that one of us would snap, and attack. I myself had those thoughts. We've lost to family members to the Volturi. It was only natural to want revenge.

Two grey cloaked figures came from the trees, holding hands just as Alice had predicted. They were quiet, we didn't even hear them coming. They stopped just out of the trees, watching us. Their cloaks, and the dark hid their faces from us, and there was no breeze, so I couldn't tell if it was two of the guards that I was familiar with.

Something seemed to have signaled them, for they moved forward again. The male took small, but quick strides, the tips of his shoes barely visible. The other, the female, took long strides, showing her legs as she walked. They came about five yards close, then froze, facing us. They seemed to be waiting for something, for some kind of signal.

As, I had thought, somebody broke. Emmett let a menacing growl out towards them. My eyes flicked to the right, looking at him. Rosalie had a hand on his arm, warning him, and holding him back at the same time. He didn't take his eyes off of them.

A normal vampire would have flinched at such a menacing growl from someone like Emmett. They didn't respond at first, not that I had expected them too. The Volturi guards had to be calm, had to be used to this.

However, the female reacted in a way I didn't expect. She started laughing. It was a high, bell like laugh. Something about it tugged at my memory, but couldn't place it. We all stared at her, surprised.

After a couple seconds, she stopped, and spoke. "Is that really any way to treat family?" She asked.

We all froze.

--

**:) Hope you liked it! Oh, and the poll on this story is closed. The winner has been chosen, and so has the fate of this story!**

**Please, please, please, review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**:) Happy Veterans Day, everybody. It would have been my Mom's 40th birthday today, so I'm a little on the sad side, but I got the chapter done.**

**--**

"Is that really any way to treat family?" I asked when Emmett growled at me. They were all staring at me with disbelief on their faces, and Santiago was gripping my hand very tightly.

"Bella, you're supposed to be dead." Alice said after a couple minutes of silence.

"Would you rather I be dead?" I asked her.

She gave me a small smile. "No." She said quietly. Then, she ran at me. I opened my arms, letting go of Santiago's hand, and caught her in a hug. She squeezed me tight, and laid her head on my shoulder.

"I missed you so much, Alice." I said quietly.

"I missed you too." She said. She pulled back, smiling at me. I took a couple steps forward, towards my family.

Esme came at me then, and gave me a hug. After her was Carlisle, then Emmett. Last was Jasper and Rosalie. I told each of them that I missed them so much, and said it to me in return. Even Rosalie did.

"Who are you?" I heard Alice ask rudely. I turned my head to see the little pixie staring at Santiago, who had not moved, and was watching us. I had momentarily forgotten about him. I walked over to him and took his hand. I could feel everybody's eyes on us.

"Why don't we go inside so we can all get properly introduced?" Esme asked before I could tell them who Santiago was.

"That would be nice, Esme." I said. The others started inside, Alice hesitating, her eyes on us.

"Come on, they don't bite." I said quietly to Santiago.

"Are you sure?" He asked, looking at me. I laughed quietly, and pulled him towards the house with me.

We entered the house, and to my surprise, it was decorated just like the old house in Forks. It was done in all white, and it even seemed to be the same furniture. The only things that didn't seem like the old house was that there was no piano in the corner, no glass wall, and the staircase was in different place. Carlisle, and Emmett sat down on the couch, Rosalie sat on the arm next to Emmett. Alice sat in a chair, Jasper standing behind it. That left Santiago and me to the loveseat. I sat down, and pushed my hood back. Santiago sat down next to me, but didn't seem very comfortable. He pushed his hood down too.

"This Santiago. He was my closest friend in Volterra." I said, laying my hand on his leg. Everybody's eyes were on him.

"Santiago," Carlisle said, "It has been awhile."

"It has." Santiago replied.

"You too know each other?" I asked.

"Yes, Santiago was a newborn when I arrived. He was still in training when I first met Aro." Carlisle said.

"Oh," I said quietly.

"I'm Esme." Esme said from besides Carlisle. "This is Emmett, and his mate Rosalie. And over there is Alice, and Jasper, her mate." She said, gesturing to everybody as she said their names.

"Bella has spoken very highly of you, all. Especially you, Alice." Santiago said. I bumped his knee with mine. He just smiled at me.

"Really?" Alice asked. "What did she say?"

"She was always saying how much she missed you, her sister. She said that you were her best friend, that she loved you, but that she hated your shopping trips." Santiago said. Alice smiled.

"Thank you for not letting any harm come to our Bella." Esme said. Santiago looked down, and I gave his knee a squeeze, knowing what he was thinking.

"But I did." He said.

"That wasn't you fault." I said.

"Bella, might this have anything to do with my vision?" Alice asked, looking at me.

"Does your vision have anything to do with me almost getting my head ripped off?" I asked her. I heard Esme take in breath, but didn't pay attention as Alice nodded. "Then yes, it does."

"Bella, what are you talking about? And does this have anything to do with why Alice thought you were dead?" Carlisle asked me. I nodded.

"What happened?" Esme asked. I sighed, and felt Santiago put his hand on mine, and give it a squeeze.

"I was getting ready to go hunting yesterday so I wouldn't have to be there while the others fed. I was heading out when I came across…when I came across one of the guards." I said, deciding that it was better not to tell them of Edward. "He was mean to most of the others, and had been nothing but rude to me since I had been there. So, I decided to confront him about it, thinking h e was all talk. He got mad, and slammed me into the wall. I tried to fight back, but couldn't for his skill was far greater than mine. He pinned me, and me, thinking I was going to die, let my shield down in hopes that Alice would see it, and be able to tell you all that you didn't have to worry about me. I got lucky, though. It seems that we were heard, and Santiago, Demetri, and Felix came. The guard ran off before they got there." I said. I could feel Alice's eyes on me. I knew that she knew I edited it.

"Was he punished?" Jasper asked, surprising me.

"Yes. He was punished, but not as badly as somebody else might have been . You see, this guard was the highest ranked, and Aro's favorite, so of course Aro went light on him. He also has a power that is of great aid to us. It was not unusual for him to have an outburst, but he had never physically harmed anyone before." Santiago said, giving away a little more than I had liked. It seemed that he agreed with Alice about them knowing who it was.

"Physical damage? Bella, what did he do to you?" Esme asked me, looking worried.

I sighed, and pulled down the collar of my cloak so that they could see my scar. "He tried to kill me." I said quietly. They all just stared at me, and I let my cloak slip back up to cover my wound.

"Who did that to you, Bella?" Alice asked. I turned to look at her.

"Alice, why do you ask a question which you already know the answer to?" I asked her quietly.

"The others do not know. They deserve to know who tried to kill you. The deserve to hate him just as much as Jasper and I do." I looked at her, and Jasper for a moment before deciding to tell them. I knew that if I didn't say it, then Alice would.

"Edward. Edward tried to kill me."

"Not our Edward." Esme said.

"No, he is not our Edward anymore. I do not know who he is." I said. "he has changed, and it is not for the better."

"So he is not dead, then?" Emmett asked quietly. I turned to look at him.

"No. He never was. It was all a lie."

"Bella, you said before, the man who attacked you was rude to you from the start. That is not true, is it? Did Edward not treat you with kindness?" Esme asked, her voice hopeful.

"What I said was the truth. He laughed in my face ever since I got there. He treated me as he treated the others. Like cap. Although, I was the only one who would not take it. I fought back against him."

"But he loves you…"

"No, Esme, he never loved me. And even if he did, he loves another now. I am nothing to him but a reminder of the past now."

"Bella…"

"It is true. It does no good to dwell on it, so I don't. He is the past, not the future." I said.

"I'll kill him…" Emmett said quietly, but menacingly.

"Emmett, I highly doubt you could win." I said quietly. He looked up at me, eyebrows raised.

"I agree with Bella. Edward is the best fighter the Volturi have, and he would have the advantage of hearing your thoughts. You would most likely cause your family more heartache, and give Aro a reason to kill you all." Santiago said. I noticed that he made it sound like Aro had talked of needing a reason to kill us off. It seemed that the others hadn't, so I didn't say anything about it.

Emmett sighed loudly. "Emmett, I'm sure if you want to fight somebody, Santiago could take you on in a fight." I said, smiling. I saw Santiago's head snap towards mine, but I just smiled wider.

A grin spread across Emmett's face. "Bring it."

Emmett stood up, and so did Santiago. I stood up with them, and the rest stood up as Emmett led the way back into the back yard. Emmett stood on one side, grinning widely at Santiago. I stood next to Santiago, still holding his hand.

I squeezed Santiago's hand. "Kick his ass." I said quiet enough so that Emmett wouldn't hear me. Santiago smiled and replied with, "I will."

I walked over to stand by the others. I noticed that as Santiago shed his cloak, and stood straight where as Emmett crouched, they only varied slightly in size. They were both about the same height, Emmett being maybe half an inch taller. He was also slightly bigger. Santiago was large, and well muscled, more so than Jasper, but not as much as Emmett. To someone who didn't know as much as I did, it would seem that Santiago was clearly the underdog. I knew it was the other way around, though.

Emmett started moving, coming a bit closer to Santiago. The smile was still on his face as he asked, "You don't have any powers like the little freaks over there that will give you an advantage, do you?" He jerked his head towards Alice and I as he said that. A smile spread across Santiago's face.

"No, no powers for me, I'm afraid." He said, still not moving. He didn't take his eyes off of Emmett, not even blinking.

Finally, Emmett lunged. Santiago stepped around him quickly, and slammed his arm into Emmett's back. He made it seem all too easy, but I knew that he was focused intently. The move he made managed to cause Emmett to lose his balance, but not knock him over. Before he could turn himself around completely, Santiago striked again, knocking Emmett's legs out from under him. Emmett was on the ground in an instant, Santiago over him, hands around Emmett's neck. I smiled, and clapped for Santiago. The whole hadn't lasted ten seconds from Emmett's strike.

"Good job, babe." I said walking over to him once he had gotten up from the ground. I still had to stretch up to give him a kiss, even with my heels on. I could hear Emmett grumbling about how 'unfair that was' when my lips met Santiago's. He seemed a bit hesitant at first to kiss me with everyone watching, but when I didn't pull back, he kissed me back. I smiled against his lips, and pulled back after a couple of moments.

"Thanks." He said, smiling at me.

I turned around to see everybody watching us, even Esme, and Carlisle. They were both smiling, as was Alice, and Jasper. I could tell that Rosalie had just rolled her eyes, and Emmett had his eyebrows raised, a sly grin on his face. I could tell he was about to make some kind of perverted comment. "Jealous, Emmett?" I asked him.

"What? Of him kissing my baby sister? No way."

"I didn't mean of Santiago. I meant of _me."_ I said, a smile on my face. He stared at me a moment before he started laughing. I heard Alice's tinkering laugh joining, and Jasper's low chuckle.

"Of, yeah totally. I'm just dying to make out with guard boy." Emmett said. I started laughing along with them. I heard Carlisle, and Esme join in. I looked up at Santiago to see that he looked very uncomfortable, and started laughing harder.

--

Once we had all managed to calm down, we went back into the living room. Carlisle, and Santiago started talking, Esme sitting next to Carlisle listening. I moved away from Santiago go sit with Alice.

"Bella, if I may ask, what are you wearing under that?" Alice asked looking at my cloak. I had forgotten that I still had it on.

"That's implying she has something on under it." Emmett said. I rolled my eyes, but otherwise ignored him. I stood up, and undid the fasten on my cloak. I set it on the couch.

"What do you think?" I asked Alice. She smiled.

"You look great. Although, it doesn't strike me as something you picked out." She said, looking at me as I sat down again on the arm of the couch.

"I didn't. Heidi, one of the guards got it for me while we went shopping." I said.

"I'm hurt, Bella. You went shopping without me." Alice said, looking away. I could tell she was only playing.

"I would think you would be more surprised that I actually went shopping of my own free will." I said, smiling. She looked back up at me, smiling.

"I am."

I jumped when I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Santiago standing there, his cloak fastened over his shoulders again. "It is almost sunrise. I have to go find Demetri. Aro would not be happy if we were back late." He said, frowning. I stood up.

"Must you go?" I asked. He sighed, and gave me a small smile.

"I must. You know Aro will not let me go freely." He said.

"I know." I replied as we made our towards the door.

"Goodbye, Santiago. Esme said, getting up, and giving him a hug, being ever so kind. "It was a pleasure meeting you."

"Goodbye, Esme." He said.

"It was nice seeing you again, Santiago." Carlisle said. "You must visit us sometime."

"I will." He said smiling.

"Next time we meet, I want a rematch." Emmett said, smiling.

"Of course." Santiago said. I walked up to him, and we too ka step out onto the front porch. I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"I'll miss you." I said quietly.

"I miss you too. You'll visit, right?" He asked.

"Of course." I said, kissing him. This kiss was longer and more passionate then the one we shared before.

"Bye, Bella." Santiago said when he pulled away.

"Goodbye, Santiago." I said quietly, but he had already disappeared off the porch.

--

**Longest chapter ever, even though it was a little boring. Yes, it seems that Santiago had to go for now. But don't worry, this isn't the last you'll see of him.**

**I got 7 reviews last chapter! :) thx you guys! Let's see if we can beat it this time!**


	15. Chapter 15

**This chapter is pretty crappy. Just a filler. :(**

**--**

Days dragged by, some seeming to take forever to go by, others flashing by before I knew they had even begun. I had nothing to do. School hadn't started, so I had the days all to myself. At first they were spent with my family, but as the days dragged by, I spent more, and more time up in my room, alone. It was starting to remind me of those years I spent alone, wondering the world, not even sure of where I was going. Just as then, I had no idea where I was going, or what I was doing. I was lost again.

I could tell the others were worried about me .I was withdrawing from them, not speaking. I kept my shield up at all times. I knew it annoyed Alice that she could no longer see anybody when they were close to me, or planning something to do with me, and I knew it made Jasper nervous not being able to tell what I was feeling, but that's why I kept it up. They didn't need to know what I was going to do, they didn't need to feel my loneness, my pain.

As much as I tried to convince myself otherwise, it wasn't Santiago I was longing for. Sure, he made me happy, and made feel whole again, but he wasn't the one who held my heart. He reminded me of Jacob. He was sun, he made my day brighter. But, just as with Jacob, he wasn't the thing I truly longed for. He wasn't my moon. I knew that if I truly wanted to, and really tried, I could be happy with Santiago. I could love him, I did love him, but he would never have all of my heart. Part of me would always be Edward's, and I wasn't sure if I liked that.

There was a knock on my door. "Bella, you have mail, dear." Esme said. I was sure it was Santiago, and was eager to hear from him, so I jumped up, and opened the door. Esme stood there smiling at me. She handed me an envelope.

"Thanks, Esme." I said quietly. I looked down at it. My name was printed, and my address, in a neat print. There was no other name, or address on the envelope. I also noticed that it felt as though there was something else in it besides a piece of paper.

"Do you know who sent this?" I asked Esme. She shook her head.

"Sorry, Bella. I have no idea." She said before turning, and heading back downstairs. I shut the door, and walked over to my long, white couch. I sat down, and opened the envelope. I stiffened when I saw the silver chain, and heart shape sitting in the bottom of the envelope. I turned it upside down, and let the locket tumble out into my palm. I knew then that it was not from Santiago.

With a shaking hand, I pulled the piece of paper out of the envelope. It was small, maybe half the size of a normal piece of paper. I could smell him on it, and inhaled deeply. My name was written again in the same print on this piece of paper. I slowly unfolded it.

_I believe this is yours now. And your wrong, Bella. I'm not some cruel, heartless monster. I care, I just chose not to be weak, and show it like you. And I did think about you, all of you. You were my family once. I couldn't just simply forget about you. I still care for them, even if we're not family anymore._

_-Edward_

I stared at the note for what seemed like the several times. After what was really just a couple minutes, there was a knock on my door. I looked up at it slowly, setting the note down on my couch next to me.

"Bella, can I come in?" I heard Alice ask. I reached over, and pushed the letter down between two couch cushions, not wanting Alice to see it. Not yet, anyways.

"Of course, Alice. Come in." I said, looking up at the door. She pushed open, and I instantly felt bad when I saw her. I hadn't really spent anytime with her, or even talked to her since I got him. The last time I really spent time with her was the night I came home.

She had her mouth open to say something, but then shut it when she saw me. "Are you okay?" She asked quietly.

"I'm fine Alice." I said.

"Don't lie to me, Bella." She said, taking a couple steps into my room.

I sighed. "Am I ever really okay?"

"No, you're not Bella." Alice said in a soft voice. In an instant, she was sitting next to me on the couch.

"I know." I said, looking down.

"You got your locket back." Alice said suddenly. I looked up at her, and found her looking at my lap. I looked down, and realized that it was still there. She reached over, and picked it up. As soon as it got close to her face, she stiffened.

"Bella…it smells like _him_." She said lowly, turning her head to look at me.

"I know Alice. He's the one who had it." I said.

"Why?"

"I don't know. I guess he accidentally ripped it off when we were… fighting." I said.

I heard the click of the locket being opened. "It's empty."

"I know. I threw out is picture since I knew he didn't love me anymore." I said.

"Both pictures are gone, Bella." I looked up, and into the locket. She was right. The picture of the family was gone.

"Was there something you wanted, Alice?" I asked, suddenly not wanting to talk to her. She looked up in surprise.

"Oh, Esme wanted me to ask you what grade you wanted to be in. Jasper, and I are go back as sophomores, Emmett and Rose are being juniors. We still need to register you for school." She said.

"Junior." I said, not looking at her. I knew she wanted me to join in her grade, but I didn't want to have to go back to high school, so I was going to spend the least amount of time there I possibly could.

"Thanks, Bella. I go tell Esme." She said standing up, and heading towards the door.

"Alice." I said quietly. She turned around. I reached in between the couch cushions, and pulled the letter out. "I thought you might want to read this."

She walked back over, and took it from my hand. I watched as she read it, her hands tightening. "Bella…" She said once she finished it.

"I think you should show it to the others. " I said, looking at her.

"I think _we_ should," She said, holding her hand out to help pull me up off the couch.

--

Alice turned her back to get the mascara, and I jumped up, and ran from her bathroom, back into my room. I heard her growl in frustration when she heard me leave. I didn't care. I had had enough of Bella Barbie for the day. It's not like I need to be runway ready for high school. Despite my thoughts, I walked over to my full length mirror to appraise myself.

Alice had put me in something that I could actually stand. I had on a fitted purple and black plaid shirt, black skinny jeans, and black ballet flat. My hair, however, had been straightened, and my eyes were rimed with black eyeliner, some black eye shadow on their lids. It looked good, but it wasn't me. The only thing that I truly thought was me was the locket that hung around my neck, a recently taken picture of the family in it.

"Bella, Alice, come on. We gotta go, or else we'll be late." Jasper called up to us. I sighed, picked up my books, and made my way downstairs.

"Okay, so Alice, Jasper, and Rosalie are going together in Emmett's car, correct?" I heard Carlisle say. "And then Bella's going alone."

"That sounds right." I heard Alice say. I walked into the living room to find everybody else standing there already.

"Bella, you don't taking Alice's Miata, and going alone to school, do you? We kinda figured you might like that…" Esme said. I smiled at her.

"It's fine, Esme. Thanks for thinking about me." I said. Ever since I had shown them my letter, they had all been giving my space. I didn't really see why.

"Okay, well lets get going. We don't want to be late on our first day of school." Alice said, sounding just as excited as ever.

The drive to the school wasn't that long with how fast we were going. The school was just as small as Fork's high school was. We pulled into two open spots in the back, and the others got out. I could already hear people whispering about them, and about me, even though I hadn't even gotten out of the car.

I pushed my door open, and got out. Everyone turned their heads to stare at me, and they all started whispering. Looking around at everyone, I noticed that I stood out like a sore thumb the way I was dressed. I could see why Alice had been trying to get me to dress more like her at first.

"That must be Mrs. Cullen's niece."

"I heard she got kicked out of three schools before she was sent here."

"She's from _America._"

I ignored the whispers, and walked a little bit closer to he others. We started toward s the school. About half way there, Emmett started singing, a song from a musical that somebody had let him watch the night before.

"_There's a hole in the world like a great black pit. And it's filled with people who are filled with shit. And the vermin of the world inhabit it." _

"Emmett, shut up!" I heard Rose say, an accent to her voice. Despite only having seen the movie once, I found myself singing, too, but more quietly.

"_There was a barber and his wife. And he was beautiful. A proper artist with a knife. But they transported him for life. And he was beautiful…_

"_He had this wife, you see. Pretty little thing. Silly little nit. Had her chance for the moon on a string. Poor thing. Poor thing…"_

_--_

**Hehe... I just saw that movie for the first time this morning while my friend was over. That is my favorite song from it...**

**Please, review!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Sorry it took so long. I've had a really bad week, and today was just horrible. The chapter kinda reflects my mood a little...**

**--**

My first periods dragged by. Emmett was in one, and Rosalie was in one, but the other two I was by myself. The teachers didn't really pay any attention to me, they were just explaining the rules of the classroom, and so on. I wasn't listening, and I knew the others weren't. In every class they sat there, talking about me. About how different I looked, the way I talked, the way I walked, where I was from, and my 'record'.

I was in my last class before lunch, which we all had together. I still had that song from earlier stuck in my head, and couldn't help but to sing it quietly to myself. The teacher had realized by then that nobody was paying attention, and she let us talk to ourselves. I found that many students were whispering about me, but I didn't really care. Still singing quietly to myself, I pulled my phone out of my pocket, and flipped it open. I let part of my shield fall so that only my mind was protected. Quickly, I got a new message from Alice.

_Are you still singing?_ She asked. I smiled.

_Maybe… what r u doing? _I replied quickly.

The teacher was going over instructions. He had a paper for us, but apparently forget to print it out He let us do whatever.

I was just about to reply when a shadow loomed over me. "Ms. Swan, out your phone away or else I would have to take it away." The old teacher snapped. I rolled my eyes, and slipped my phone back into my pocket. I could hear Alice laughing softly in some other classroom, thanks to my hearing.

Everyone in the class had gotten silent, and was staring at me. The girl who sat two seats to my right was staring at me across the empty seat between us. She was one of the girls with fake blonde hair, and was only in advanced placement classes because her daddy bought her way in. I narrowed my eyes at her. "What? Do you have a problem with me?" I snapped at her. She quickly turned away to her friends, whispering about me. I sighed loudly, and looked at the clock. I still had five minutes left of this blasted class.

I sighed, and started doodling on the back of one of my notebooks. I smiled when I realized that I had drawn my locket. Without even thinking about it, I lifted my hand up, and wrapped it around it. The bell, and I picked up the books ,and was out of the room before anybody had even finished pushing their chair in. I moved quickly to my locker. When the kid whose locker was next to mine saw me coming, he quickly stuffed everything in his locker, and slammed it shut. I sighed, and put my combination in, put my books away, and went into the cafeteria. Despite how fast I been, the others had beaten me there, and had gotten their 'food'. I walked over and sat down in on of the remaining seats at the round table.

"Aren't you going to get some food, Bella?" Alice asked, looking at the table in font of me.

"Nope. I would rather not have more of the smelly crap in front of me. I'm just going to let them think I'm anorexic, or something." I said. Emmett laughed.

I suddenly became aware of the fact that everyone was staring at our table. But, they weren't looking at the others. No, they were only looking at me. And they were talking about me too. It wasn't the normal whispers you would hear about the Cullens though, these were different. These were whispers of fear, of worry. They weren't talking about what I was wearing, or my family, but if I might hurt one of them. They were talking about how I looked dangerous, about how I looked deadly.

I hadn't realized I was shaking until I felt a hand on my arms. "Bella, calm down. It's fine." Alice said quietly to me. I looked at her, and she slowly pulled her hand back. She was giving me a look that was on the faces of some of those around me. It was quiet and everyone was looking at me.

I turned my head, and looked at a freshman who was sitting at the table across from ours. She flinched back away from my gaze. "I'm sorry." I said quietly to her. Then, I jumped up, slammed my chair into the table, and ran out of the cafeteria at a human pace.

I had almost made it to the doors of the school when I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder. I had been expecting Alice, or maybe Jasper to come after me, but not Emmett. I knew it was him from his scent.

"Bella, come on." He said quietly, squeezing my shoulder a little more. I squeezed my eyes shut.

"No." I said quietly. He grabbed my arm, and turned me around to face him.

"Bella, it's fine. Please, open your eyes, and come on." Emmett said quietly, his voice calm.

I didn't open my eyes. "Emmett, please, let me go."

"No Bella, because your going to leave as soon as I do. And I know you won't come back for a long time, just like last time we let you go." Emmett said.

"Please, Emmett." I begged, not bothering to contradict what he said. It was true.

"Bella, open your eyes." Emmett said, his voice a little louder this time I opened them slowly, and looked at him.

"Let. Me. Go." I growled at him. He grip tightened Bella.

"No, Bella. Because as soon as I let go of you, your going to run out that door. And it's going to kill Esme. Did ever even think about how this would effect us if you left again?"

I tried pulling away from him, but he was too strong. I couldn't get out of his grasp.

"I'm not letting go Bella. I'm not going to let you run away because you can't handle a couple of humans. I care about the family, unlike you. You only seem to care about yourself." The words Emmett said were not like him. They were not the happy, fun loving Emmett I knew. And the words that came out of my mouth weren't me either. But, they were.

"Get the fuck off of me, Emmett. You don't know a damn thing about me." I growled out.

"Don't I?" He growled back. His grip tightened to a point of which it hurt. My instincts were starting to kick in, and I could only think of getting him off of me. I turned my head, and sank my teeth into his hand. He pulled it back instantly, a his escaping through his teeth.

"Dammit, Bella." He said. I didn't care ,though. I just turned, and headed towards my locker, stuffing Alice's car keys into my pocket.

I made my way to my locker, and got my books out for my afternoon class, despite the fact that that it was only halfway through the current period. Time seemed to drag. I sank down against the lockers, and set my books next to me. I put my head in my hands, and shut my eyes tight.

It had been a crappy day, and it was only half over. I had all of the school terrified of me, tried to run away again, bit Emmett, and had gotten in trouble. I was afraid to face my family. I knew they would be mad at me, and I couldn't blame them. I still couldn't get the look that Alice gave me earlier out of my mind. She actually looked afraid of me…

I sat there like that for the rest of the period. When the bell rang, I gathered up my books, and started towards my next class. I was the first one there, and I went in, and chose a desk in the back corner, next to the window. I ran my hands through my hair, and leaned back in my chair. Kids started coming in then. They all gave me cautious looks, and chose seats as far away from me as they could.

Emmett and Rosalie came in after a group of girls. Emmett didn't look at me, but Rosalie glared at me. I didn't care about her though. I looked at Emmett's hand. I could see the shine of venom still on it from where I had bitten him. Upon seeing it, I moved my hands so that they were covering my eyes. After a couple seconds, when I heard the teacher come in, I took my hands away. Emmett and Rosalie had taken seats in the back row, one seat between Emmett and I. He didn't even glance my way.

The teacher passed out our books for the course, and gave us a reading list for the year. He also passed out spiral binders for our homework. The rest of the class was spent talking about his rules, school rules, and class rules. I didn't listen.

My last class of the day, Emmett was in. He wouldn't look at me, but I knew that he knew I was looking at him. The teacher passed out books, folders, and talked about rules. Blah, blah, blah. I didn't really care. I had heard it from all of the other teachers, and I had heard it my first time in high school. That was enough for me.

As soon as the bell for the end of the day rang, I was up, and out of there. I put all of my books in my locker, grabbed my bag, and slammed it shut. There wasn't anything in there I needed. I headed towards the doors, and out to the cars. I was halfway across the parking lot when I heard them.

"Bella! Bella, wait!" I heard Alice call. I ignored her.

"Bella! Hold on! We need to talk to you!" I reached the car just in time. I got in, and locked the doors. I knew they could easily get the door open, but I also knew hey wouldn't do anything in front of a bunch of humans. I could hear the click of Alice's shoes getting closer. I started the car, and backed up, making sure I didn't hit anything.

Then, I was out of there. I headed straight back to the house, as fast as i could. I wanted to be able to get there, and drop the car off before the others got home. I know i was doing exactly what Emmett and i had been arguing from, but this was different. I was going to come home this time, I wasn't going to stay away for years.

I pulled in the drive. I could hear the others coming, so I jumped out of the car, shut the door ,and tossed my bag up on the porch. I could hear Esme making her way towards the door to see how our day had been, but i had taken off into the woods by then.

I had learned one thing about fighting in Volterra. If you don't want to fight, or you want to get away, don't stick to the ground. Go through water, or jump up in the trees. They won't lose your scent for good, but it will keep them looking for awhile.

After running for a couple of minutes, I jumped up onto a branch, then another up. I started jumping from tree to tree, not going all the way up, sticking to the coverage of the leaves. Once I was sure they wouldn't find me for a little bit, I jumped down, ran another minute, then jumped back up into a tree.

Then, I sat down against the trunk, and started to sob.

--

**Please, please, review!**


	17. Chapter 17

**This chapter is kinda boring, and a lot of dialogue, but it's important!**

**--**

It was getting dark, the sun sinking past the horizon, when I decided to drop out of the tree, and run back home. Nobody had come near where I was, so I figured either they didn't look for me, or they couldn't find me. I figured it was the first one since if they were looking for me, they would have been able to find me with Alice's, and Jasper's powers.

It only took me a couple of minutes to get back to the house. I couldn't smell any sign of them, so I knew that they had just gone home, and not looked. Despite the fact that I hadn't wanted them o find me, I was a little sad that they didn't even look for me.

Once I was close enough, I could see the light from the downstairs. I broke out from the trees by the front porch, noticing that my bag wasn't there anymore. I listened, but couldn't hear anything from the house. It was deathly quiet, which let me know that they knew I was back. I sighed, and walked around to the side of the house that my window was on. I took a couple strides forward, then launched myself up onto the roof below my window. I pushed it open, and climbed inside.

I didn't see her, or smell her, but I knew she was there. "I'm not going to say sorry, Alice." I said quietly so that the others downstairs wouldn't hear me. She got up from my couch, and walked over to the light switch, turning it on.

"What was up with you today, Bella?" She asked. "You scared the hell out of those humans!"

"I didn't mean to." I said, sitting down.

"What was it then that made you act like that? What the hell made you bite Emmett?" She asked, her voice getting a little louder.

I put my head in my hands, and rubbed my eyes. I had just opened my mouth t answer when my phone rang. I pulled my head up and looked at Alice. She raised her eyebrows. I pulled my phone out, and looked at the screen. "It's Santiago." I said quietly.

Alice sighed, and stalked out of the room. "Alice!" I called, but all I heard was the door to her and Jasper's room slam shut. I sighed, and flipped my phone open.

"Hey." I said, leaning against the back of my couch.

"Hey." Santiago replied with. I let a small smile slip onto my face.

"I miss you." I said quietly. "I kinda thought you would have called me sooner, though."

"I miss you too. And I've been busy. There's been a string of murders that we know are related to our kind, and Aro has been sending me out with some others to investigate."

"Why you? Doesn't he usually keep you around for guard?" I asked.

"Yeah, but I tend to notice things others don't." He said. I could almost hear the smile in his voice.

"Oh, yeah. I guess I forgot." I said, my smile growing.

"Bella," Santiago said, his voice taking on a more serious note, "that's kind of why I called."

"What do you mean?" I asked, getting confused.

"You used to live in Washington, correct?" He asked. I nodded, then remembered he couldn't see me.

"Yeah." I said quietly. :And Charlie, my dad, still lives there."

"Bella, the killings are heading towards Washington. Near Forks." Santiago said.

"No…" I said quietly. "How…how can you be sure?"

"We're not, but that's just a guess, based on your past. I was there, along with Demetri just a week ago. They were in Oregon, and heading north."

"Did you see them? Is anybody down there now?" I asked, fearing my father's safety. I had a good feeling that they were right. I did have a past with vampires after all…

"No, we didn't see them. Edward is the only one down there. It seems that there is another coven at the other end of Oregon like you guys. He said he knew them…" Santiago said. I could tell he was hoping I would be able to tell him more.

"The Denali's. They're like cousins to us. I've never met them." I said.

"What can you tell me about them?"

I stood up, and started pacing. "There's Tanya. I guess you could say she's the leader. Kate, and Garrett, Irina, Carmen, and Eleazar."

"Eleazar? What do you know about him?" Santiago asked, a new note to his voice.

"I only know his name. I don't know what he looks like, or if he has a power." I said. "I know his name, and that Carmen is his mate."

"I know them. Eleazar used to be one of us. He was with the Volturi before I was and left when he met Carmen. I am glad he found a good family." Santiago said.

"He used to be a guard?" I asked, surprised.

"If we are talking about the same vampire, yes." Santiago said. I sighed, then another thought hit me.

"How long has Edward been visiting the Denali's?" I asked.

"If I am correct, he shouldn't have gotten there yet. He left this morning, and should be there in an hour or so. Why?"

"Santiago, I have to go. But, if things go as I'm thinking, I'll be in Washington in a couple days, and we may see each other. As of now though, I have to go." I said before clipping the phone shut. I hadn't even given him time to reply.

I tucked my phone back in my pocket as I made my way towards my door. I ran out of it, and down the stairs in a second. Everyone except for Jasper, and Alice was still in the living room. They all turned to look at me as I entered.

"Bella, what-" Carlisle started to say, but I cut him off.

"Was Eleazar once one of the Volturi?" I asked him.

"Yes, he was. But he left them quiet awhile ago. Why?" Carlisle asked, standing up from the couch.

"So they do know each other…' I said quietly to myself, ignoring Carlisle's question.

"Bella, what's going on?" Esme asked.

"Tanya, what's Tanya's number?" I asked pulling out my cell phone. After a brief pause, Carlisle told me, probably realizing that he wasn't going to get anything else out of me for now. I dialed it, and waited. It rang once before somebody answered.

"_Hello_?" Said a musical voice from the other side.

"Tanya?" I asked.

"_Yes, this is Tanya. May I ask who this is?" _

"I'm Bella," I said.

"_The Cullen's Bella?"_

"Yes. Listen, Tanya, I need to tell you something." I could tell that everybody was listening, eager to know what was going on.

"_Okay. What is it?" _Tanya asked, sounding a little confused.

"One of the Volturi is going to show up at your house in about an hour, asking you questions." I said. I heard Esme gasp from behind me.

"_What? Why? And how do you know?"_ Tanya demanded.

"The Volturi were interested in my power, and I stayed with them for awhile. I made a friend there, and called to give me a warning. He told me that one of them was going to question you guys. He said this vampire knows you."

"_Who told you this? And who is the vampire coming? Eleazar probably knows him…"_

"Santiago told me. And he said he knows Eleazer, and Carmen. As for the vampire going to visit you, you all know him." I said.

"_Who? Who is it?" _Tanya asked, getting a bit impatient. I heard Alice and Jasper come down the steps behind me, but I didn't turn.

"It's Edward." I said. She was quiet a moment.

"_Impossible. He's… dead. You of all people should know that."_

"I thought he was too. But, they lied. They didn't kill them. They kept him as a guard member. I saw him when I was in Volterra." I said.

"_No, no, you're lying. He's dead."_

"I'm not lying to you, Tanya." I said.

_Is Carlisle there? Let me speak to Carlisle." _Tanya demanded. I sighed, and looked up at him. He held out his hand, and I placed my phone in it.

"Hello Tanya… No, I don't know what's she's talking about, none of us do… Yes, it is true… Yes… No… Okay, yes, I will. Goodbye, Tanya." Carlisle hung up the phone, and handed it back to me.

"Bella, what's going on?" Alice said. I sighed, and ran my hand over my face.

"Santiago called while Alice and I were talking. He said that they were following a string of vampire related deaths. I hadn't thought anything about it until he told me that was why he called. The deaths have been taking place in Northern Oregon, and are heading into Washington. With my past with vampires, they think that maybe they are heading towards Forks. Towards my father. Santiago said that he had been down there looking for proof, and that Edward was flying down now to talk to the Denali's to get some information. I wanted to warn Tanya so she wouldn't be taken by surprise, or do something stupid." I said in a rush, looking at them.

"They're not about the vampire's intentions, or location, are they?" Esme asked.

"No, they just know the general area." I said. "I'm going down there."

"Bella, you don't even know if this has anything to do with your father, or not." Alice said. I turned to her, my temper rising.

"Okay then Alice. What do you see? What can you tell me about this situation?" I demanded. Her eyes glazed over, and she came back jus a second later.

"Nothing. It's all back. Your future is. It would be helpful if you would take your shield down." Alice said, her temper rising in return. Part of me wondered why Jasper wasn't trying to help calm us down. Part of me didn't care.

"I don't have my shield up. And if you can't see my dad's future, then that means the pack is involved. And they wouldn't be doing anything if there wasn't any vampires in Forks, would they? And if you can't see my future then that means that I'm going down there, and getting involved. Even if my dad has nothing to do with this, and it's just some stray vampire, I'm going down there. It's too close to home for me." I said.

"You're not going alone, Bella." Carlisle said. "We're going with you."

"You don't have to do that, Carlisle. I'll be able to handle it. And, I'll have the pack. Or at least those of them who still phase." I said.

"We're still going with you. Your family ,and that means Charlie's our family too. And besides, I would like have a few words with Edward." Carlisle said, his eyes darkening slightly at the end.

"Thanks Carlisle. But, I want to leave as soon as possible." I said, looking at him. He nodded.

"I'll call the airport, and book the next flight to Salem for us. We're coming back, so take only what you need." Carlisle said, looking at the others. They nodded, and headed upstairs. Only Esme, Carlisle, and I remained. I sat down on the couch, and put my head in my hands, as Carlisle got his phone out.

"Bella, dear, are you okay?" Esme asked me, scooting over, and putting her arm around me. I leaned my head on her shoulder.

"It's been a long, bad day. I just wish I could lay down, and go to sleep." I said, closing my eyes on her shoulder.

"I know what it feels like. It may take awhile, but you'll get used to the not sleeping. It took me ages. But, you find other things to do at night." Esme said.

"Yeah, I can hear all of you every night." I said. I felt Esme shake with silent giggles. "I feel bad for Edward. He had to listen to it, and he could see it all, and hear your thoughts… god, I really feel bad for him."

"That's why Edward's the best musician. That's why he's read more books than other of us, save Carlisle." Esme said. "To tell you the truth, Bella, we all hoped that when Edward met you, and fell in love with you, he wouldn't have to spend his nights alone anymore."

If I could have, I would have been bright red then. "He doesn't love me, Esme." I said.

"I think he does. I just think that it's buried deep down in him, that he's fighting it." Esme said, laying her head on top of mine. I was enjoying her embrace. My mother was never the one to hold me. She never was the mothering type, unlike Esme.

"Thank you." I said, opening my eyes.

"For what, dear?"

"For everything. For putting up with me." Esme chuckled.

"Bella, you're a joy to us all. We're glad to have you with us." Esme said.

"Well, there's a flight leaving from London in an hour. If we want to catch it, we have to leave now." Carlisle said, clicking his phone shut. With that, the others appeared. Rosalie ,and Alice both had small bag with them. Emmett and Jasper were empty handed.

"Esme and I will take her car. I want the five of you to go in Rosalie's car." Carlisle said, tossing a set of keys to Rosalie. She nodded, and they started towards the door. Esme and I stood up, and made our way out too.

We climbed into the cars, Rosalie driving, with Emmett in the passenger. Alice took the window seat, which left Jasper the middle, and me the window. I had a feeling that this was done on purpose to keep my temper under control. I had been a bit out of control lately, and he could make contact with my skin, it would help control me better. Of course, it would be on use of I put my shield up…

It was half an hour drive to London, but with the traffic, it took us forty five. Usually, we wouldn't have been allowed n the plane for being so late, but the Cullens had money, and money got us on the plane. I got a window seat with Esme, and Carlisle next to me. Alice, and Japer were behind us, and behind them was Rose and Emmett.

As the plane took of, I settled myself in for a long flight.

--

**hehe, that was a long chapter for me. 2500 words. :)**

**Sadly, I must say that this story is coming to an end. There's a couple chapters left, no more than 10 I think, then its over. I would really like to reach 100 before the end, so please, please, please review!!!**

**p.s, I did change my name for those of you who are wondering, *cough cough*brittany* cough cough***


	18. Chapter 18

**Little boring, but hey! it's an update!**

**--**

It took us fourteen hours to fly from London to Salem. We had to land once, and board another plane after seven hours. I spent most of the time with my eyes shut, thinking about what was coming.

The plan was when we land, we were going to stick to the trees, and run to where the Denali's were staying. I wanted to go straight to my father, but Edward was hopefully going to still be with the Denali's, and I needed to cover their thoughts. I wouldn't be able to do that if I was in Forks. So, I had to go.

Once we got the information we needed, I was going to go to Forks to protect my father, and speak with the remaining pack while the others searched for the vampire, or vampires, as with last time. I knew that none of us thought It was just a stray group anymore. I knew that we were all sure it was Victoria, trying again to extract her revenge on me.

I knew that if it was her, me going off on my own was not a good idea. I didn't know how to fight properly. I knew to let my instincts take hold, but not completely take over. Don't go for the obvious kill. But, I wanted to face Victoria alone. After all that she's done to me, I think I deserve to get the chance to finish her by myself.

I wasn't sure how my dad was going to react, if he saw me. I hadn't decided if I waned to reveal myself o him or not. Last time we had talked, which had been awhile, I was still living alone in England. If I did reveal myself, he would be shocked. I wasn't sure if he could take the truth. And even if he could, we would have to deal with me telling a human about us. Humans can't know. Humans can't be trusted. But I could be trusted, and I would trust.

Finally, we touched down. All of us rushed off, and met in the lobby of the airport. We causally walked out, acting as though we were a normal family. Once outside, we made sure nobody was watching us before taking to the trees, and running.

I wasn't the fastest, that was Jasper, but he was the only one faster than me. We led the group, with Carlisle, and Alice close behind. It was deadly silent in the trees, for we made no noise as we ran, and all the animals sensed our presence, and went quiet. They were smart, unlike humans. They shied away from us, they feared us. Humans sensed something was off, and was cautious of us, but they did not stay away. They ignored their instincts.

It took us an hour to reach their house. We didn't pick up any scents we didn't know, but we did catch Santiago's and Demetri's about halfway there. They were the only vampires we smelt. Once we got closer to our destination, we could smell the Denali's. The scents were new to me, but to the others.

When we entered the clearing that their house was in, I became aware of raised voices from inside. They were loud, and fats spoken, even for a vampire. I also became aware of another scent in the clearing. Edward's. I knew the others smelt it too because they stiffened, and Emmett's eyes darkened a little from his anger. It appeared that the vampires in the house did not hear us, for they kept yelling. I checked to make sure we were all still covered with my shield before we approached.

Once we were maybe three yards from the house, the others stopped. I could tell they were a little nervous, and maybe fearful of seeing Edward again. They knew what he could do. They had seen the proof on me. They feared he might react badly.

I didn't stop though. I walked right up to the back door and knocked. Three sharp raps on the door. It got deadly quiet in the house for a moment. I reached out with my shield, and covered Tanya with it. Then, there was a low hiss. "Bella…" I could tell it was Edward that said it.

I heard the light footsteps approaching the door. It opened to reveal a beautiful strawberry blonde vampire standing there. She took me in, then the others standing a bit back. "Bella?" She asked me.

I knew it was Tanya from her voice, and gave her a soft smile. "Hello Tanya." I said to her.

"Come in." She said, looking at us all, and taking a step back. I walked in, and heard the others slowly start to approach. I went straight to the den, where I knew Edward would be.

"It's not polite to yell at a lady." I told him. He had his back to me when I entered, but upon my words, he slowly turned around to look at me. His eyes were black.

"It's not nice to attach somebody who did nothing to you." He replied.

"You were standing there, saying crap to me. And even if you hadn't said it, I would still have reason to attack you." I said. I couldn't hear the others, so I assumed they were quietly listening in the kitchen with Tanya.

"What did I do to you to make you attack me, then?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"You convinced me that you loved me, then left me heartbroken in the woods, all alone with a murderous vampire after me. Then, you lied to me, and your family, about your death. You ripped my heart out, and pretended to be dead." I said.

"Why are you here?" He asked, changing the subject.

"I don't really think that is any of your business, Edward." Carlisle said, coming into the room. Edward's eyes turned to him. I saw a flash of surprise in them, but it was gone not even a second later.

"Carlisle." Edward said as a greeting. Carlisle took a couple more steps into the room, halfway between where I stood in the middle of the room, and the door. Edward was standing on the other side of the room. The family, and Tanya came in, and close to the door. I saw Edward's eyes flick to all of them, but no emotion showed this time.

"Why are you all here?" Edward asked. I noticed that he didn't look at the others, but kept his eyes on Carlisle.

"Family matters, which means that it is really none of your business." Carlisle replied coolly.

Edward's eyes flicked back to me. "Who told you? Did Santiago tell you about the killings?"

"Santiago has nothing to do with this, so just leave him out of it." I said.

"You're a horrible liar Bella. It's just more proof that you haven't changed, even after al of these years." He said. I heard a hiss from behind me.

"Stop it." I said to whoever it was that hissed without turning. They got quiet, and I put my focus on Edward. "I would rather be the same person I was seven years ago, than the monster you are now."

"We're all monsters, Bella. Face. Every single person in this room is a monster." Edward said, a cruel grin on his face.

"I've never cause somebody to die a slow, painful death by taking away their heart, Edward. I've never killed somebody without doing any physical harm to them. I've never put the people who took me in as family by pretending to be dead so that I wouldn't have to face them. I'm not a monster Edward. None of us are. You are the only monster in this room."

"Think what you want it's not going to change the truth." He said. I sighed, and sat down on the couch.

"You're hear to question Tanya and the others about what they know on these vampire attacks. So get to it." I said, crossing my arms across my chest. "Where are the others?"

"They went on an extended hunting trip this morning. They should be back soon. I didn't go because I hunted yesterday." Tanya said. She walked over and sat down next to me on the couch. Edward crossed his arms, and looked at us.

"Oh, I get it. I think little Eddie here has stage fright. I think he wants us to leave." Alice said in a mocking tone. He turned to look at her.

"I don't care what they hell he thinks. He's fucking crazy if he thinks were leaving." Emmett said, flexing his muscles. I noticed that Edward took notice of the bright white scar on Emmett's hand.

"Do you really think I'm afraid of you, Emmett? I may not be able to hear your thoughts because of your precious little Bella, but you wouldn't last a second with me." Edward sneered at Emmett, a smile on his face. I looked at Emmett, and could see that he was getting ready to attack. He growled at Edward, and Edward responded with a cold laugh. This pushed Emmett over the edge, and he launched himself at Edward. Rosalie grabbed at him a second too late.

I jumped up, and Emmett crashed into me. He was caught by surprise, and brought to the ground with me. I managed to get on top of him, and hold him to the ground. He was quickly breaking out of my grasp, though. "Jasper! Calm him down, and get him outside!" I shouted.

I felt calming waves wash through the room as Jasper got closer. He walked up, and put his hands on Emmett's arms. Slowly, he calmed own. He got up, Jasper and I each keeping a hold on him. Jasper started walking with him towards the door. Rosalie, and Alice joined them, and went outside. I turned back to Edward, who had a smirk on his face.

"What the hell is your problem?" I hissed out at him. "Haven't you already done enough damage to this family?"

I turned my back to him, and walked over to Esme. I grabbed her arm. "Come on, let's go outside with the others."

"What about Carlisle?" She said, looking at him He had his eyes locked on Edward, who was watching us.

"I would feel better if somebody was in here so that Tanya wasn't alone with Edward. It's clear that Edward can't be trusted." I said. "Carlisle will be fine. I have a feeling that Edward won't do anything to him. Besides, Aro wouldn't be very happy with him if he did anything to his friend." Esme stared at Carlisle a moment longer, then slowly nodded her head. She let me lead her outside with the others.

--

Carlisle's Point of View

I kept my eyes on Edward as Bella and Esme left the room. Once they were outside, and I couldn't hear them anymore, Edward flipped his eyes back to me. His face fell, and he uncrossed his arms, bring them up to his face.

"Why did you do it?" He asked quietly.

"What?" I asked, confused. There was an edge to my voice that I couldn't control. I couldn't help it, I was angry.

"Why did you change her? Why did you do it?" He asked, lowering his hands, and looking at me. He looked like my son then, not the cruel, cold hearted person he had become.

"She was dying. She wanted to become one of us. So I changed her." I said, not wanting to give him too much information on what happened.

"I already know what happened, Carlisle. I saw it in Aro's thoughts, and I heard her talking to Santiago about it." He said. "I just want to know why you didn't let her die. Why did you damn her to this life?"

"She's family. She wanted this life, and I didn't want to let her die. And I know you don't believe Bella's damned. She is one of the purest souls I've ever met. There is no way somebody like her could ever be damned." I said, looking at him. I saw his eyes soften for a moment, but then they turned hard again, cold.

He turned to Tanya, who was still watching from the couch. "I believe we weren't finished talking yet."

--

**:)**

**please review!**


	19. Chapter 19

**:) This chapter is better, in my opinion, than the others have been lately. and, its longer! 2700 words. **

**--**

"I don't see why we just can't go now." Emmett said, getting a bit impatient.

"Emmett, do you really want to leave Carlisle here with Edward?" Alice asked him, her voice sounding irritated. I could tell she didn't like just waiting out here for them while they talked. I knew she would much rather be inside, listening to what was going on. I knew that everybody would have liked to have been inside, listening to what was going on. I knew that some of them would have liked to be able to kill Edward. But, we didn't always get what we wanted.

I wasn't really paying attention to what was going on with the others. I was perched up in a tree, sitting with my back against the trunk, one of my legs hanging off the branch. It had only been a couple minutes since we left Carlisle in there, but it seemed like hours. I just wanted to hear what Edward said to them, and then I wanted to leave to go protect my father.

I listened to the darkness around me, tuning out the sounds my family was making. I could hear animals moving in the trees, and owls flying in the sky. But, it was quiet. The animals near to us were hiding, hoping that their lives wouldn't end tonight. Ni doubt they had seen the Denali's hunting in these woods before, and knew what was coming for them. But, they needn't have worried right then. They were in no danger.

I suddenly became aware of a group approaching from the north, coming straight towards us. The others, who were still talking, and arguing, clearly had not heard it. I jumped down from the tree unnoticed, and started towards the sound.

The thought that it could have been a trick didn't even cross my mind. I knew it was the others returning from their trip. Something just told me it was, so I headed off to meet them.

It didn't take long for me to find them. They apparently stopped when they heard me coming. I walked past a couple of trees to see five vampires standing there, waiting. I took notice they crouched down slightly when they saw me.

"Who are you?" One of the males hissed. H and the female at his side were dark haired. She was looking at me curiously, and wasn't as crouched as the others. I glanced at the others. There was one with pale blonde hair standing by herself, who I assumed was Irina. Then, there was a female with blonde hair, and a male by her side with sandy brown hair. He seemed a bit more wild than the others, his eyes gold, but I noticed the flecks of red in them. This told me that that was Garrett, their newest member, meaning the woman at his side to be Kate. Assumed the other two were Eleazar, and Carmen.

"Eleazar, you have no need to fear me." I said to the man who had spoken. He looked at me strangely, and I saw his eyes flick up to my golden ones.

"Who are you, and how do you know my name?" He asked.

"I'm Bella." I said, offering a small smile. The woman next to Eleazar, Carmen I assumed, stood up straight, and returned my smile.

"The Cullen's Bella?" She asked me.

"Yes, the Cullen's Bella." I said with a small laugh. Just then, Irina let out a growl, and turned and disappeared into the trees. I watched worriedly after her.

"Do not worry about her, she is still upset about Laurent." Eleazar said, taking a couple steps forward. The others followed.

"I am truly sorry about that." I said.

"It is fine Bella. He would have killed you, and we wouldn't have wanted that." Carmen said. Then, she added, "Are the others here?"

"Yes, they _all_ are." I said. We started walking back.

"I thought you left them?" Kate asked.

"I did. I knew the Volturi would be looking for me, and I didn't want to cause any trouble with them, and the family, so I left them temporarily." I said.

"So the Volturi found you?" Eleazar asked.

"Yeah, I've actually only been back a couple weeks. I spent several weeks with them actually." I turned my head to look at Eleazar. "Santiago asked me to say hi to you for him."

"He is still with them then?" He asked me, a smile on his face.

"He is. I spent a lot of my time with him." I said. After that, we walked in silence for a moment.

"Bella," Carmen started. I could hear the voices of my family then. "I don't meant to sound rude, butt what brought you here? Surely you all have a reason for coming."

"We do." I said, stopping, and turning to look at then. I took a deep breath. "There's something I need to tell you all before we get back to the house."

"What is it?" Garrett asked. "Something didn't happen to Tanya?"

"No, Tanya is fine. She might be a little shocked, but she's fine."

"Bella, what's going on?" Kate asked.

"I discovered something about Edward's death when I went to Volterra." I said. Nobody said anything, so I continued. "They didn't kill him. He's still alive, and he's one of them."

"That's impossible. Alice said that she saw them kill him." Eleazar said.

"The future can change." I said.

"Wait, so what does this do with you having to pay us a visit? There's something more, isn't there?" Carmen asked. I nodded.

"The Volturi decided to step in with the killings that have been taking place. Santiago, and Demetri had come down, but couldn't find the vampire responsible. When they realized that you guys were here, they reported back to Aro. Since Edward knows you guys, he was sent down." I took in their expressions. "He's in the house right now with Carlisle and Tanya talking about what has been going on."

"You don't seem very happy that he's back." Kate said suspiciously.

"I'm not. He's changed, so much." I said. "He's not the same vampire he used to be. He's… cold, and cruel. He doesn't care anymore."

"But he cares about you." Carmen said, taking a step towards me. I put my hand on the edge of my shirt collar.

"No, he doesn't. He tried to kill me." I pulled back my collar, and let them all see the scar he gave me. I heard them suck in a breath, and stare at it. I let my shirt fall back into place, which covered most of it. "Come on, the other's are probably wondering where I went."

We walked back the short distance to where the others were. They seemed momentarily relieved to see me, but then their focus shifted to the others with me. The started greeting each other, and filling them in on anything I had left out. I swung myself back onto my branch, and settled back against the trunk, watching the people below me. I expanded my shield to include the others, and checked that I had everybody but Edward covered.

Another couple minutes passed before we heard somebody approaching. Those on the ground tensed, and I stood up on my branch. From the added height, I could see that it was Carlisle coming back. "It's Carlisle." I said, and sat back down on my branch.

A second later, Carlisle entered the clearing, and glanced around at everybody, not seeming to notice me in up in the tree. " Santiago, and Demetri are going to come back down to help us track the vampire. We don't think it's what happened last, when Victoria created herself an army. We think it is simply three or four newborns on the lose. We still need to find them, and whoever changed them, though." Carlisle said.

"So you don't think it's Victoria?" Alice asked.

"No, we don't. Nothing points to her. Her scent hasn't been caught around here, and Edward aid that the scent he got from Demetri's memory wasn't Victoria's. Of course, he couldn't smell it, but simply what it smelled like to Demetri, and he said it wasn't what he remember her smelling like."

I noticed something when Carlisle was talking. They seemed to have overlooked something. Maybe he, and Eleazar had forgotten it because it had been so long, but it was fresh in my mind. It didn't fit. I opened my mouth to point it out, but Carlisle started talking again. "Edward, and Tanya are waiting for us back at the house. Edward wishes to discuss what we are going to do while we wait for Santiago, and Demetri to get here."

With that, they all headed back to the house, leaving me up in the tree. I didn't blame them for forgetting me. When there are other things on your mind, you tend to forget things, even if you are a vampire. A lot was going on. The Denali's had just learned that Edward wasn't dead, and the Cullens were just seeing him for the first time in eight years. They also had to worry about the fact that he was from the Volturi, and that more were coming, which I knew wouldn't sit well with some. On top of all of that, they had to focus on making a plan to catch these vampires that were running lose, and killing people. I can see how it easy it was to forget about me, the girl up a tree. Heck, if I was them, I would have forgotten me too.

I jumped out of the tree, and landed lightly on my feet. I glanced towards the way the others had gone, staring as if I could still see them walking that way when I knew they were probably in the house already. They would be fine without me. Besides, the plan was for me to leave them anyways to go help my dad. They didn't need me to stick around. I would probably just be a burden, since I would have no idea what I was doing. And they would realize soon enough the mistake they made. They would be fine.

I turned my head the other way, to the north, the way the Denali's had come down from. That was the way I needed to go if I wanted to be able t watch over my father. I was sure it was the way Victoria was heading too. I took a step tat way, then a thought hit me. I pulled out my phone from my pocket, turned it off, and dropped it on the ground. I wouldn't be needing any distractions.

I took off running into the trees. As I ran, I released the others from my shield, exposing them. I wrapped my shield tightly around myself, making sure that there was no way they would be able to sense me. I pushed myself harder, trying make myself go faster. I wanted to prove to them I would be able to do this on my own, and to do that, I would need as much of a head start as I could get.

After a couple minutes of running, I realized with a start that I was doing exactly what I said I wouldn't do. I was running away from my family again. But, this time I wasn't running for myself, I wasn't being selfish. No, this time, I was running away from one thing to save another.

--

Edward's Point of View

I paced back, and forth across the room, waiting for Carlisle to come back with the others. I could feel Tanya's eyes on me, but I ignored her. She had been quiet, and fidgety while I talked with her and Carlisle. She hadn't seemed to like that fact that it was only me, her, and Carlisle in the room. Now that Carlisle was gone, though, I could hear her fidgeting and I knew from the brief glances I threw her way, she was shaking. Usually, causing someone to be this afraid of me would have given me great pleasure. The Volturi were supposed to be feared, I was supposed to be feared. But, something about Tanya being this afraid of me didn't feel right. Maybe it was the fact that she used to be my family. _You had no problem scaring Bella._ My mind argued. I sighed, realizing I was right. Maybe it was because I was around my family. Maybe they were bringing who I used to be out again.

Yes, that has to be it. Of course. When I first saw Bella again, the old me was fighting to get out. So it would only make sense that when I'm around the people who used to be my family, that the old me would want to get out. But, I wouldn't let that happen.

I glanced up at Tanya, and flashed her a smile, my teeth showing. She flinched back, and I laughed. Just then, I heard the others approaching the house, and stopped pacing, looking through the kitchen to the back door. I noticed that Tanya didn't bother to look that way, but chose to keep her eyes on me. A second later, the others came in, the rest of the Denali's with them.

"Tanya!" Kate said, and rushed over to her sister. "Are you okay?"

I heard the door open, and shut, and saw Irina come in, looking upset. When she saw me standing there, she gapped, opened mouthed. Alice walked over, and put her hand on Irina's shoulder, and started whispering in her ear. All of the other Denali's where staring at me, giving me dirty looks. I noticed that there was a new male, somebody I didn't know. The way he hovered near Kate made me assume that this was her mate.

"I told the others of what we discussed, Edward." Carlisle said, taking a step away from the group, Esme at his side. I looked at her a moment, and I saw the fear in her eyes. I smiled, and she shrunk into Carlisle's side.

"Good, so I don't have to waste time going back over it." I said, my eyes glancing around the room. I t was deathly quiet, the only thing I could hear was the animals in the trees behind the house. Everybody was staring at me.

Suddenly, it was loud. It seemed as if everybody in the room had started talking at once, a couple of them yelling. I almost flinched from the noise, but caught myself. "Edward, what is it?" Carlisle asked, clearly seeing that something had alarmed me.

I realized then what it was. It was thoughts, their thoughts. I could hear them again. Instantly, my eyes scanned the room, searching for the one person who would have made this able. I couldn't find her. I turned my eyes back to Carlisle, who was watching me like every other person in the room.

"Where's Bella?" I asked him. He's eyes narrowed, and could hear in his thoughts that he thought I must have been trying to confuse him, for he was sure Bella was in the room.

"She's gone!" Kate said, realizing I was right about Bella not being here.

"That's impossible, she followed us inside, didn't she?" Rosalie said, sounding confused. I saw her replaying what had just happened in her head. She didn't even take notice to Bella when they were coming in.

"She must still be out there in the tree then." Kate said.

"Alice, what do you see?" Carlisle asked Alice. Her eyes glazed over, and she came back not even a second later.

"Nothing, she has her shield up around herself." Alice replied, sound a bit irritated. I was getting angry.

"Dammit, where is she then?" I demanded.

Nobody answered.

--

**ooh, he's getting angry! hehe, the next chapter will either be up Saturday, or Monday I think.**

**HAPPY DAY BEFORE TURKEY DAY DAY!!!! hehe**

**PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!**


	20. Chapter 20

**HaPPy TuRKeY DaY!!!!!!!!**

**--**

I lost track of time while running. At one point, it started raining, letting me know that I was going in the right direction: it always rains in Forks. Although I was glad that I was heading somewhere familiar, and even enjoyed the rain, it washed away any scents I might have had a chance of finding. But it also washed away my scent from whoever might have been looking for me, Cullen or not.

Eventually, the trees surrounding me started to look familiar. It's hard to say how trees look familiar, but they did. The greenness of everything, the way the air smelled. I knew I was close to home. I could feel it.

After a couple more minutes of running, I moved out from the trees, and onto the road I had been running next to. I knew that I could go faster in the trees, but I would have a better sense of where I was going if I could follow the road. There was no sidewalk, so I walked along the side, getting my shoes, and the bottom of my jeans mud caked. I didn't really care, but I knew Alice would have a fit when she saw me.

It didn't take me long of walking before I saw the welcome to Forks sign on the other side of the road. Smiling, I crossed the street, and took to the trees on that side. I ran among the edge, close enough that I could see the road, but the humans couldn't see me. After just a minute, I came to the break in the trees that gave away to the town. I stepped out of them, and started walking down the sidewalk, memories flooding back to me.

I spotted a pay phone on the corner, and made my way up to it. I put some money in it, and dialed my dad's phone number. I didn't have to worry about him having moved, or gotten a new phone because I knew my dad would never get rid of that house. He didn't really like change, and it held too many memories.

The phone rang three times before somebody answered. I could hear talking in the background, and whoever had picked the phone up laughing. I knew at once it wasn't my dad.

"_Hello?"_ The voice said. It was a woman's voice. It pulled at my memory, but I couldn't place it.

"Um, hi. Is chief Swan there?" I asked.

"Yeah, just a moment." She said. I heard the pone being set down, and I heard it quiet in the background.

"_Chief Swan speaking."_ A gruff, but familiar voice said. I smiled. It was my dad.

"Hi dad." I said quietly. I knew my voice sounded different, but I didn't bother to try to make it sound normal. He would found out soon enough that I had changed.

"_Bells? Is that really you_?" Charlie asked. I laughed quietly.

"It's really me dad. It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

"_Yeah, it's been at least two years since you called me last, Bells. How are you doin'" _

"I'm doing fine, dad. I just called to let you know that I'm gonna be in Forks for a day or two. There's something I need to tell you." I said, wrapping the cord of the phone around my hand.

"_Really Bells? That's great. When will you get here?" _Charlie asked.

"Soon dad, very soon." I said with a smile. "I got to go, but I'll talk to you soon, okay?"

"_Okay. 'Bye Bells."_

""Bye dad. I love you." I said before hanging up the phone.

I started making my way down the sidewalk, taking the steps I knew by heart to my dad's house. To home.

It was quiet, not many people out. I realized that I had no idea what time it was. I couldn't see where the was in the sky, and I had on idea how long I had been running. I assumed it was early, but not too early judging by the voices I heard on the other end of the phone. I guessed that it was around noon.

It only took me a couple minutes to reach my house. When I neared it, I spotted a familiar car in the driveway. A beat up old Rabbit. I realized with a start that Jacob was here, and probably his dad too. This meant trouble, even if Jake had managed to stop phasing. He knew what I was. I walked over to the truck, and took a deep breath. It still stinked of wet dog. I scrunched up my nose, knowing that this meant he still phasing. I turned my back to it, and walked up the steps. I knocked the on the door. I t got quiet inside again.

"Are you expecting somebody else, Charlie?" A deep voice said, that I recognized as Billy Black's.

"No, I'm not." My dad answered. I smiled, knowing he didn't think that when I said soon, it would be this soon.

I listened as his footsteps made their way towards the door. I could also hear some kind of game on the TV, what sounded like baseball, but I wasn't sure. Finally, I could hear my dad on the other side of the door, turning the doorknob, and opening the door. He stared at me a moment, and at first I didn't think he recognized me.

"Surprise?" I said, smiling. He stared at me a moment longer.

"Bells?" he asked. I heard all talking stop in the other room. Then, I heard the all familiar voice of my exbest friend whisper 'impossible'.

"It's me dad." I said, smiling even wider. He smiled back at me, and I gave him a hug. I felt him stiffen in my arms, and I pulled back to look at him.

"Is something wrong dad?" I asked, looking at him.

"Your one of them, aren't you?" He asked me. I stiffened. "You've become one of them, just like the Cullens, didn't you?"

"Wh…what are you talking about dad?" I asked, feigning confusing. He didn't buy it.

"Bells…" He started, sounding sad. He looked me up, and down. "You're soaked. Come in."

"Thanks dad." I said, stepping in. I could see the others n the living room, watching me. I recognized the woman as Sue Clearwater, and wondered if she was hear for my dad, or Billy.

"What did you do, walk here?" My dad asked clearly having noticed that there wasn't a car outside that hadn't been there before.

"Yeah, I did actually."

"All the way from the airport?"

"No, not the airport… Oregon, actually." I said, a small smile on my face. He stared at me moment, then his faced turned sad again.

"Why did you come here, Bells?" He asked making his way towards the living room. I followed, but stopped at the entrance. I could see Jake shaking slightly. He looked exactly the same as last time I saw him, except his hair was cropped short again, and his face seemed a little more mature.

"I missed you." I said, looking at him. He sighed, and sat down next to Sue.

"Bells…" He said. I turned to Jake.

"You promised not to tell." I said quietly. He growled.

"I don't keep promises with bloodsuckers. And besides, your precious Cullens broke the treaty when they changed you. It doesn't really matter if I break it anymore." He said. "You Cullen's broke it. Fair game."

"I'm not a Cullen." I said quietly. "How much did you tell him?"

Jake ignored my first comment. "he stories. He knows what you are Bells. He knows what I am. He knows everything."

"You don't have to talk about me like I'm not here, you know." My dad said, sounding slightly annoyed. "What do you mean you're not a Cullen? Aren't you with them now?"

"I…I was. But I left, and spent seven years on my own." I said. "I told you about the Volturi, right?"

"Yes. Did something happen?"

I sighed, and nodded my head. I continued on to tell them about what happened, even about Edward. When it got to the part about my scar, I pulled it back. I saw Jake flinch slightly at it, but knew the other couldn't see it. I moved closer to the light you that they could see it, and they gasped. I continued on, going ahead to tell them of what brought me here.

"So, you haven't caught any scents, have you?" I asked Jacob. "Those of you who still phase."

Jake had managed to stop the shaking. "Embry, Seth, Collin, and I are the only ones who still phase. All the others managed to quit." He said. " And we've caught the scent of one we don't know, but that's it. None of that red headed leech. We haven't caught her scent since you left. Then again, we don't phase much. And we don't look for the scents. There hasn't been a single leech here since you left."

"Oh…" I said quietly, not having gotten the answer I wanted.

"Bells." My dad said quietly. I looked at him. "You're going to leave not, aren't you?"

I gave him a sad smile. "I am. But I promise, I'll be back later tonight, or tomorrow, okay? I won't be gone forever."

My dad got up, and walked over to me. He surprised my by giving me a hug, which I returned. "I'll miss you kiddo."

"I'll miss you too, dad." I said. He pulled back. "'Bye you guys." I said before turning, and heading back out into the rain.

It was raining even harder, but there was no signs of thunder. Just a regular rainstorm. I sighed, and headed towards the trees behind my father's house. I had no idea what to be looking for, but if I was correct I wouldn't need to do anything. I wouldn't have to find her, she would find me.

I walked through the trees, taking everything in. I followed the same path I took with Edward that faithful day almost nine years ago. I walked past it, and made my way farther into the woods, letting my feet lead me rather than my mind. After walking for a couple minutes, I sped up. If she was here, looking for me, wouldn't she want to finish it where it all started?

It didn't take me long to find it. I burst through the trees, into the baseball clearing. I looked around it. It was exactly as I remembered it from the last time I was here, my last human moments. The tree that had been knocked over when Victoria slammed into it with me, which resulted in my broken spine, still lay on the ground, slowly decomposing. Near the edge of the field, there was a patch of dead grass from where the dead were burned. It was the same, but it was empty.

I took a couple steps into the clearing, then stopped. Nothing happened. I continued walking until I reached the middle, and let out a sigh. Then, there was a soft thud from the trees I had just left, and a peal of laughter. I slowly turned around to find two vampires with bright red eyes staring at me.

--

Edward's point of view

At first, we had no idea of where Bella was. Jasper managed to calm everybody down though, and they thought back to what they had discussed. All of them were going to come here to face me, then once that was sorted out, Bella was going to Forks. So, we knew where Bella was.

We didn't want to wait an hour for Santiago, and Demetri to get back, so we stated searching the woods for the killers. The Denali's chose to stay behind to wait for Demetri and Santiago, but the rest of us were on the hunt.

It didn't take long for me to catch the scent of one, but I was an old scent. It was the same one Demetri had been following. I continued following it, though, knowing that it had to give off to something eventually. As I followed it, a thought struck me. Whoever had laid this trail had been able to get away from Demetri, one of the best trackers in the world, if not the best. Nobody ever got away from Demetri. Bella was the only one, and there couldn't be another Bella, could there? No, it wasn't another Bella. Demetri had been able to get a hold on whoever this was. He couldn't get a hold on Bella, he couldn't find her. Whoever this was had to be someone made for getting away, a master of escape…

I froze, my thoughts racing. I knew someone with that power, I knew a vampire who could get away, who knew how to escape anything. I dropped to the ground, and took a deep breath. Aside from the smell of dirt, and earth, I could smell the scent I had been following. I took a deeper breath. Under it all, I could smell a very faint scent, one that had been burned into my memory. It was faint, worn away from rain, and the other vampire's scent, but it was there.

Bella had been right all alone. Victoria was back, and after her.

--

**DUN DUN DUH! sorry, I love doing that! **

**I would like ot say two things to my reviewers. 1. Aquamarine Jazz, this is not a murder mystery, alothough you seem to have turned it into one. Let's se if you guessed right! lol**

**And I would like thank all of my reviewers, but a big thank you to Bella Rocks for giving me my 100th review! :D**

**Okay, so this is two days in a row I updated. Please review!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	21. Chapter 21

**This dedicated to my mom, who passed ago one year today from a heart attack. :'( I really miss you.**

**--**

It was Victoria.

"What, too afraid to face me alone?' I asked Victoria, glancing at the young boy at her side. I could tell he was younger than me, but older than the ones with her last time. I guessed he was maybe a year or two old. His eyes weren't the orange red of the newborns, so I knew he was at least a year.

Victoria, who had been watching me watch the boy, laughed. "Afraid, of you? Why would be afraid of a weakling like you? I don't need help killing you."

Just as I opened my mouth to ask why he boy was there, he took off running into the trees. I narrowed my eyes, and listened carefully, but he seemed to be running away. That only put me more on the edge. "I'm here. Let's finish this." I said instead.

She laughed again. "You've just signed a death wish, Swan." She said. "Or is it _Cullen_ now?"

"No." I said quietly. "Not Cullen. It's never been Cullen."

She just smiled in response, and started circling me. I started moving in response, not wanting to let her out of my sight. I knew there was a good chance I wouldn't get out of this alive, or uninjured, but I wasn't going down without a fight.

She started going faster, circling me faster. I was almost spinning trying to keep up with her. I started going in a circle too, instead of just turning on the spot. Suddenly, she ran the other way, and came at me. I turn, and slam my hands into her in time. She skidded back against the ground a bit, and came back at me before I truly had time to recover. I dodged her, but she came at me again. I managed to slip out of her reach, but she came at me again, and again. Each time, she came faster, and it was getting harder for me to dodge her attacks.

After a couple of minutes of dodging, I was too slow to turn. Victoria caught me by the back of the neck, and threw me into the ground. I slid across the muddy field, unable to stop myself. As soon as I slowed, I pushed myself up. I hadn't been able to stand completely up before Victoria rammed into me again, knocking me back to the ground, on my face, her on top of me. I heard a growl come from her throat, and could feel her breath on the back of my neck.

I rammed my elbow back, and into her side, catching Victoria by surprise. She let go of me in her surprise, and I was able to get up. She got up, and my foot rammed into her, knocking her back, sliding across the mud like I was just a few seconds before.

Victoria had just gotten back up, and was coming at me again when a howl broke through the air. Another howl, then another followed it. I froze, just as Victoria did when she heard it. She turned her eyes to me. "It seems that you 'friends' have found my Jordan."

I didn't respond, and her lips turned up in a cruel, mocking smile. I felt a growl build up in me, and couldn't stop it. She smiled even wider when she heard it, and started circling me again. I moved with her. Again, we began the dance we were in before, but I struck at her now, too. I had already learned something.

A growl reached my ears from the trees. It was something I had heard before, something I knew well enough to even know which wolf it came from. I made the mistake of stopping, and looking into the trees like I had last time. Victoria saw that I was distracted, and struck me again. She hit me square in my chest, and I went flying backwards into a tree, Victoria coming fast after me. It brought back memories of the last time I had faced Victoria, which I quickly pushed away.

The tree fell with the impact of my body. I heard a ripping noise, and felt part of my shirt tear. I quickly rolled away from it, but didn't try to get up, knowing that Victoria was coming. Not even half a second later, she was over me, fist pulled back, ready to strike again. I rolled out of the way just as her fist hit the ground, and swung my legs so that hers were knocked out from under her. I managed to get up before her, but instead of striking I took a couple steps back, away from her. She jumped up, and did the same thing I had just done.

Neither one of us had moved when the sound of heavy paws, and breathing reached my ears from the other side of the clearing. Victoria didn't even turn her head towards the sound. Her eyes flicked that way, then she turned quickly, and ran. Going against my instincts, I turned my head to see what had made Victoria run.

On the other side of the clearing was the male vampire, Jordan, I assumed, with four wolves around him. I saw the eyes of the big, russet wolf flip to me quickly, and take me in. I imagined I must have been quiet a sight, covered in mud, and soaking wet. His attention was pulled back to what was in front of him, however, when Jordan managed to send a light brown wolf flying into a tree. Collin brought the tree down with the force of the impact, and Jordan ran. Collin quickly got back up, and followed two of the wolves into the tree after the teenage vampire, but Jacob came galloping towards me.

"Victoria. She ran when she heard you." I explained to him. He nodded his large head, then gave me a look. I sighed. "You distracted me, okay? That's why didn't follow."

Jacob let out a couple of huffs that I knew were chuckles, and looked towards the way Victoria had gone. He glanced back at me before he set off, following the path she had taken. I followed after him.

**Edward's Point of View**

I did not even think about what I was doing when I pushed myself up from the ground, and started in the direction that I had come from. My head was filled with the thoughts of others, and my own racing thoughts.

I reached the spot where they had been waiting, and found a cell phone on the ground. I picked it up, and could smell Bella all over it. I started running again. As I ran, I turned the phone back on. She had one missed call. It was from Santiago. I growled without even thinking about it, and flung the phone on the ground, shattering it. It took me a minute of running to realize what I had done. I didn't slow down, or stop though. I didn't need too. I could think, and run at the same time.

Had I done that out of frustration? Or, had I done it out of jealousy? Part of me kept saying I was just frustrated that she ha d left without telling anybody, and had left her phone here. The other part of me, the part that held the old me, said it was jealousy, and worry. Santiago calls her, she talks to him without hate in her voice. I was listening to that part of me, not locking it away. It continued on. If I didn't care, would I have been so mad when she left? Was I mad, or worried? And the fact that I decided to go to where I thought she would be, without even knowing if she would be there, or even thinking about her.

Did I have feelings for Bella Swan again?

--

After a couple hours of running, I reached the small town of Forks. It was pouring rain, and barely anyone was out. I could feel the static in the air, threatening to turn this from a rainstorm to a thunderstorm. I blocked out the sound of the rain, and let my powers range out, searching for anything that might give me a sign to where Bella was.

It didn't take long to find something that caught my attention. Something was rushing in my direction through the trees, the thoughts saying nothing, but showing panic, and the image of three large wolves. I couldn't mind the minds of the small pack, however, and figured they must have been out of my reach. In a small corner of my mind, I wondered how long they had been phasing again.

I started moving stealthy through the trees in the direction the vampire was coming from. It didn't even take a minute before I could him rushing through the trees towards me. I froze, waiting for him to close closer. He was in my sight before he stopped, his instincts telling him that a danger was near. It was too late though.

I took quick mental note of the vampire. He was young, maybe sixteen. I could tell from his dull red eyes that he wasn't a new born, but by how late it had taken him to notice a threat, I assumed he was no more than five years into this damned life. Still young by our standards. His thoughts betrayed him, wondering where Victoria was, and why hadn't she warned him of these _monsters _lurking in the woods. He was mad.

He spun, searching for the threat, but not spotting me. As soon as he turned his back to me, I launched myself at him. I was on him before he could turn, and had his head off before he knew what was going on. I had already gathered what I wanted from him. There was no need to keep him alive. I quickly tore him apart, and took the matchbox from my pocket. After a couple of tries, one lit, and I threw it onto the pile of body parts. Vampire flesh burns whether its wet or not. It wouldn't burn long, but it would burn long enough to kill us.

I started through the trees again, searching for anything. Victoria, the pack, Bella… I knew the pack had to be looking for the boy. They wouldn't just give up on a hunt, I knew that. I would find them eventually. They weren't my main focus, though. Finding Bella was. And I knew Bella. She's a danger magnet, so if I found her, I most likely had Victoria too.

I started towards the old Cullen manor, my old home. I don't know why, but I felt a pull coming from there. Once I got there, I found it surrounded my plans, taken over. I didn't have to time to waste, though, and started off again, this time heading towards the clearing.

Once I made it there, I knew instantly that Bella had found Victoria, even though the clearing was empty. There was long skid marks in the ground that had not yet been washed away. Their scent was also all over the place. I noted that two trees were fallen, although one looked like it had been down awhile. I assumed from the side that was collapsed in that this was from Victoria's last attack. I started towards the other fallen tree.

As I got closer, I noted another scent. The smell of wet dog. I scrunched my nose up without even thinking about it. Reflex against the smell. I reached the tree, and started looking it over, hoping for some kind of sign, or clue to what had happened. It didn't take long to find something. There was a piece of purple and black fabric stuck to a lower branch. I picked it up, and clutched it in my hand.

Letting out a low growl, I started into the trees again.

--

***sigh***

**I know, it's short. Please, don't kill me. And I know, I suck at writing the fight scenes. I prefer the gooey, fluffy, romance stuff. **

**Please, review!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Okay, so this chapter sucks big time. But just stick with me, okay?**

**--**

It was not easy to find a definite path to follow. The rain washed it away almost immediately, and her scent was still faintly under the trees where the rain had not reached it. Her scent was everywhere, but was slowly being washed away.

Jacob led at first, having gotten the head start. I kept up with him, following his lead. At first I wasn't sure of how he knew where to go, ho he knew where she was, because I had no idea. I remembered then that he had dealed with her before, and knew what she tended to do.

As we ran, the rain didn't let it up, but rather it seemed to rain harder, if possible. I could feel the static in the air, threaten to turn this into a thunderstorm.

Despite the rain, the overpowering smell of wet dog reached my nose, signaling that he were about ready to enter La Push. The treaty popped into my head, and I skidded to a stop. It took Jacob only a second or two to realize I wasn't following him anymore. He stopped, and jerked his head, signaling for me to follow him. I trusted that he wouldn't consider me crossing the border as a breach to the treaty. I was with him, and I assumed this was him giving me permission.

I started following him again, crossing into La Push. After a minute or so, the trees thinned a little, and the smell of sea salt reached my nose. I looked at the large dog ahead of me. "The cliffs?" I asked. I saw him nod his head without looking back. "I'm going ahead then. You'll be at a disadvantage in the water."

I pushed myself a little faster, quickly passing him. He was fast, but I was faster. I pushed myself even harder, desperate to make up for lost time. Soon, Jacob was falling behind, and the trees were thinning even more. We were almost there. A second later, I broke through the tree, and found myself o the small dirt road where Jake taught me how to ride a motorcycle. I didn't stop, or slow down, though. I just had to go a little farther up to road, around the curb, and cross it. Then, I would be at the cliffs

As I reached the curb, I saw her. She had just came out from the trees, and was going straight for the cliffs. I could tell she didn't see me. Without even slowing down, she launched herself off the cliff, and over the edge. She disappeared from my sight then.

I crossed the road, and heard Jacob come out from the trees a bit back. I easily jumped over the railing, and took a couple of steps towards the edge without slowing just like Victoria had. As I launched myself off the cliff, I searched the rough waves for any sign of her, but caught none. I fell in a perfect dive, not afraid of the waves below me. I had been swimming in an ocean since my change, and knew no harm would come to me. I wasn't afraid, not even of Victoria. Whatever happens happens.

I hit the water, barely causing an effect. A few ripples went out from where I entered the water, but that was it. I opened my eyes once under the surface, and looked for any sign of Victoria. At first, I didn't see anything. Once I had turned around once, though, I could see her. She was coming at me fast from under the water.

I turned, and quickly started towards the cliff I had dived from. I needed to get out of the water. There was no way I would be able to take her in the water. My chances were better on land.

I rode on the waves to the cliff, and quickly started climbing up it. I didn't look down, but I could hear her following me. I urged myself to go faster. I finally reached the top, and pushed myself up and over the railing. I quickly ran across the road, and back into the shelter of the trees. Victoria was right behind me.

I stopped, then spun around quickly. My foot collided with the side of Victoria's face, knocking her back, and into the mud. I started at her again, but as soon as reach her, she jumped up, and slammed her fist into me, sending me flying back. She followed soon after.

She was just about to crash into me when there was a rustling in the bushes by us. We both turned our heads to see what it was. Jake came through the bushes, snarling, and growling at her. She looked at him, then back at me, clearly not liking the odds. Then, she took off again. I jumped up, and instantly started after her, Jake following close behind.

--

We followed her through the woods of La Push, and back into Forks. She had the advantage, knowing where she was going. I could almost keep up with her, but her sudden twists, and turns threw me off. I never let her out of my sight, though.

We broke through the trees into a clearing a little outside of Forks. Victoria kept running until she hit a cliff that was too high for even her to jump up. She reached, it and spun around to face Jacob and I. Her eyes were dark, and deadly. I could tell she wasn't going to drag this out like she had been before. She wanted it over now.

Jake and I started moving at the same time. We spread out a little so that we were coming at her from two different angles, and started closing in on her. Her eyes darted around, trying to find someway out. She was desperate, she knew that if she couldn't find a way out, then it would be her end.

We were closer to her now, and her eyes were still flicking all about. Suddenly, she jumped towards me, and I braced myself for the impact. Jacob lunged at her, and at the last second, she changed her path, crashing into Jacob instead. He was sent flying back towards the cliff, but not before latching on to one of her arms. With a sickening screech, it came off, and went flying back with Jake. Victoria screamed in pain, and maybe fury as he crashed into the cliff. A couple rocks tumbled down on him, and he didn't move. In the distance, I could hear a chorus of wolf howls, obviously sung for their alpha.

Filled with fury, and determination, I launched myself at Victoria. I caught her off guard, and she crashed into the cliff a couple yards away from the giant wolf. She didn't loose her balance, but she did stumble a little as rocks poured down on her from the force of her impact. In an instant, I was in front of her again, pinning her to the wall by her neck. She let a weak laugh out.

"Just remember, when you kill me, I'll be with my James again. And you'll still be here, all alone, unloved." She said in a last ditch effort to save her own life. "Are you really going to kill me, and reunite me with my love?"

"Damn right I am." I growled out as I ripped her arm off. She tried to hide the pain, but I felt her flinch slightly. I brought my own head down to her neck, and quickly drew my teeth across. Her head quickly came apart from her body. I let go of her body, and let it fall, but I kept hold on her hair.

Using my teeth, and my free hand, I easily tore the rest of her body apart. Once I had finished, I realized that I didn't have anything to burn it with. With a low grumble, I kicked her arm into the other body parts, and stalked over to Jacob, her head still in my hand. I dropped her head, and knelt down, making sure it was still in my vision in case she started putting herself back together. I reached out, and gently touched the side of Jacob's head. He didn't move.

I started checking him over. The only injury I could find was a large gash on the back of his head. It was already partially haled by the time I had found it ,and only knew it was there from the smell of blood, and the blood that matted the fur around it. I knew better than to assume that this was his only injury, though. He could have broken a bone, or have internal bleeding, or something else… The only thing that truly soothed me was the fact that I could hear is large heart beating in his chest, and shallow breaths escaping from his lips.

I heard the sound of heavy footfalls coming my way from the trees, and assumed it was the pack coming to the aid of their wounded leader. I didn't turn to look for them, not even when I heard them enter the clearing. I did turn, however, when I heard several low growls. I turned to see three wolves approaching me slowly from the tree line, their lips pulled back over their teeth.

"I'm not hurting him." I said quietly, turning back to Jake. He still hadn't moved. I reached out, and gently laid my hand on he side of his face. I could feel the hot breath of one of the wolves on my back now. I turned to see a large sandy wolf standing behind me. He wasn't looking at me, however, but at the head that still lay on the ground next to me.

"Seth, you can see inside of his head. How is he?" I asked him, turning to look at the wolf. It raised it's large head, and looked at me. Seth cocked his head to the side, still looking at me, before turning, and running into the trees. I sighed, and turned back to Jacob.

I moved my hand, and reached around to feel the back of his hand. The wound had already healed completely, leaving no trace that something had even happened. The blood had also been washed away from the heavy rain. I shed quietly, and turned, having heard Seth coming back. I saw him come towards me, human now, from the trees.

"Here," Seth said, handing me a matchbook. "He seems to drifting back to consciousness."

I gave a small smile. "It's a good thing he has such a hard head."

Seth had just opened is mouth to say something in return when my head whipped towards the trees. Somebody was coming, and fast. One of my kind. "Somebody's coming." I told Seth, who clearly had not heard it. He too ka couple steps back, and phased on the spot, shredding his clothes. He moved so that he was standing with his back to me and Jacob, protecting us. The others moved so that they were facing the sound too, and were a little closer to Jake, who had just started stirring in my arms. I stayed on the ground with him, but turned, waiting to see who it was.

A second later, Edward entered the clearing. That had surprised me. I would have thought somebody from my family would had come after me, if anybody. The pack growled, and I let a low hiss slip through my teeth at the sight of him. His head automatically turned at the sound of my hiss, and he started this way. Collin, however, got in his way, letting another low growl slip. He made it clear that Edward wasn't getting any closer to Jacob.

Edward let a low chuckle out at the wolf in front of him. "Step aside wolf, before I make you move." He said.

"They would not hesitate to kill you if you get any closer without permission." I said. Edward moved so that he could see him around Seth.

"Do you truly think they could defeat me? A bunch a of little pup-"

"And I would not hesitate to help, either." I added. I saw something flicker on his face, but the mask was back up. Jacob stirred in under my hand, and I turned back to him.

Watched as he slowly opened his eyes, blinking several times. He looked at me, and lifted his head up. He shook his head, dispelling water from it. If I hadn't been soaked, I might have laughed because the action would have sprayed me with water. He stopped shaking his head, and started taking in other things around him. He noticed the head on the ground next to me, and a smile spread across his face. He made to get up, and I stood up, and took a couple steps back so that I was next to Seth. Jake got up, and shook hiss whole body out.

"How do you feel?" I asked him. He just rolled his eyes, and picked up the head in his mouth. I saw his tail start to wag, and started laughing. "You look like a little puppy with a new chew toy."

A chuckle came from his throat, and he looked over at the other pile of body parts. Seth immediately bounded over, and picked up the torso. I walked over, and picked up the other parts. "The trees will offer more cover for burning them." I said. Jake nodded, and the three of s headed over to the trees.

We piled up the body parts, and I lit the match. The others had come over, and watched as I dropped the flame onto the body parts. Despite being soaked, the instantly caught flame. I watched them with a smile on my face until I heard somebody step up next to me. I didn't even look up at Edward as I spoke. "Why are you here?"

--

**Yep, the truth comes out in the next chapter! And, I have one thing to ask a certain reviewer:**

**Stephanie, why should I make Edward and Santiago fall out of love, huh?**

**lol, please review**


	23. Chapter 23

**It took me forever to write this chapter, even though its no longer than normal. But, I think I did a good job. :)**

**-~-**

I waited, and he didn't say anything. I turned my head to look at him, and he was gazing at the fire. Finally, he spoke, his voice stiff. "It's my job. The Volturi exist to keep humans from knowing about us. I came here to make sure that didn't happen."

I didn't turn my gaze away, but rather chose to keep watching him. "You're lying. If that was the case, you would still be in Oregon, helping the others with the murders there. There is no reason for you to be here."

"Victoria was my reason." He said.

"I don't believe that either." I said quietly. "You knew about the pack, and that I was here, so why did you come? Did you not think that a group of animals made to kill us, and another vampire couldn't handle one vampire?"

"Victoria was lethal-"

"So am I."

He ignored me. " And she wasn't alone. There was another, but I took care of him."

"Two vampires, but that doesn't make much of a difference. You're still lying."

He opened his mouth to say something, but I felt a wet nose touch my arm. I looked over to find Jacob's face only inches from mine, his nose wrinkled up. "He says that Charlie is probably worried. You've been gone for hours, and you promised to come back." Edward translated. Jacob let out a growl, but I ignored it.

"Thanks for reminding me, Jake. And you're right, we do need to get back. Your dad is probably worried too." Jake just rolled his eyes, and started off in the direction of Forks. I looked at Edward. "Are you coming?"

He nodded, and we started after Jacob. It only took us a couple minutes to reach the trees by my old house. Edward and I waited while Jake phased in the trees, then we started up to the house. I didn't bother to tell Edward that Charlie wouldn't take warmly to seeing him. I figured that he had already figured that out, on his own, or from somebody's thoughts. Without putting much thought to it, I reached out to wrap Jacob, and the three in the house in my shield. I heard Edward let out a soft sigh, but couldn't see his face for he had put up his hood again. I figured that it was for that reason, hiding his face, for he was already soaked.

Jacob walked right up the steps, and went in without knocking. I followed him, Edward coming a few steps behind. Jacob, and I continued into the den, unheard by anybody, while Edward stayed behind in the foyer. Suddenly, Charlie jumped up, having spotted us. Billy just turned to look at his son, a smile on his face.

"Bella! What happened?" Charlie asked, stopping a couple feet away from me. I smiled, realizing I must have been quite a sight. My clothes were destroyed, mud soaked, and I was soaking wet.

"It's over dad. She's gone." I said with a smile. Charlie looked confused for a moment, then realization crossed his face.

"Are you okay?" He asked me.

"I'm fine, dad." I said, ignoring the pain in my shoulder from where Victoria had gotten me once.. "I don't know if I would have been if it wasn't for Jake, though."

He rolled his eyes. "Psh, you know it." I laughed, and he joined in.

"I really hate to tell you this dad, but we need to get going. I promised I would check back in with you before I left, but I can't stay." I said. My dad sighed, and sat down on the couch again.

"We? You're not going away too, are you Jake?" My dad asked, looking at him. He shook his head and my dad looked back at me.

"Actually, I was talking about me, and Edward." I said, looking down.

"Edward who, Bella?" Charlie asked, his voice wary.

"You know who, dad." I sighed, and looked up.

"You're not-"

"No, were not dad." I said, cutting him off. " I don't even know why he came, actually. His help wasn't needed."

My dad sighed, and looked down, just as I had done a minute before. "I promise this won't be the last time you see me, dad. I'll visit, I promise. Or you could visit us. I know Carlisle wouldn't mind flying you out."

"You promise, Bells? I barely got to see you today." He said, looking up at me.

"I promise, dad. I got to go now." I said, knowing Edward was probably growing impatient.

"Bye Bells." My dad said.

"Bye dad. By Jake, Billy. Sue." I said. "Love you"

I turned, and walked back to the foyer. Edward was looking at a picture of me on the wall. "Come on." I said quietly, heading towards the door. He turned, and followed me back out into the rain.

--

**Edward's Point of View**

We had been running for awhile, me in the lead with Bella not too far behind. Nobody said anything, and my head was swimming with questions for her. I knew that she also had a lot for questions for me that she wanted answered. I stopped and turned in time to see Bella almost crash into me. She stopped just inches away from me.

I sighed. "We need to talk." I said. I heard Bella mumble something like 'you read my mind' under her breath, but couldn't be sure o f what I had heard.

"I couldn't agree more." She said dryly, crossing her arms, and talking a small step back. I didn't say anything, and she raised her eyebrows, waiting for me to start.

"Aro's not going to be happy with you." I stated, not saying what I truly wanted to.

"And your point is?" She asked me, raising her eyebrows again.

"A human knows about us. He's going to do something about Charlie." I said, crossing my own arms over my chest.

"No, I don't think he will." She replied, narrowing her eyes at me. I wondered what was going through her head at that moment.

"Really? And why is that?"

"Because Aro already knew that those on the tribe council knew of vampires, and werewolves, whether they were in the pack or not. Charlie's part of all that now." She said. I didn't say anything, knowing she was right. Aro would have seen that others had already known from her thoughts and hadn't said anything about it. She smirked, knowing that she was right.

I pulled her phone out, and tossed it to her. "I believe this is yours."

She caught it, and looked at it. "How did you get this?"

"Found it while I was on my way up here." I said. She tucked it in her back pocket, and looked back up at me.

"Edward, stop avoiding my question. Why are you here?" She asked, her eyes looking straight into mine. "And I want the truth."

"You don't want the truth." I said, keeping my voice just as cold as hers.

"Why don't I?" She challenged.

"The truth can only hurt you." I said quietly.

Her look softened, and she let her arms drop to her sides. "I don't believe that, and I know you don't either."

I sighed, and looked away from her gaze. "Victoria. is why I did it." Bella opened her to mouth to say something, but I continued on. "She's lethal, she could have killed you."

"Dammit, Edward. I don't want your crap reasons. Why would you care-"

"Would you just let me finished?" I growled out. She nodded. "I was worried. I knew you were up there, running around with a bunch of mutant puppies, while someone like Victoria was after you. I was worried about you."

"Why Edward? Why would you be worried about me getting killed when you almost killed me yourself? You had already killed me when you left, and then you attacked e, and tried to take me from this world. So why would you care?"

"Because I still care for you, Bella." I said, not saying everything that I felt. I didn't just care about her…

"Thank you. That's what I wanted to hear." She said quietly. Her voice took on the stiff tone it had earlier. "We need to get going. The others are probably wondering what happened."

She watched me for a moment longer before she ran right past me. I just stood there. I had been certain she would have reacted differently. I thought maybe she would say something similar back to me, or would come running into my arms just as she would as a human. Had she really changed that much? Did she really hate me now?

With a sigh, I turned and started after her again.

--

It didn't take me long to catch up with Bella. She didn't say anything or even accolade my presence the whole way back. Once we were close enough, Bella reached out with her shield, and wrapped it around the others so that I couldn't hear their thoughts. We were close, and I could here everybody in the clearing around the house, even Santiago, and Demetri. When we entered the clearing, they all looked up at us.

"Where have you…" Alice started, but trailed off when she caught sight of Bella, soaked, mud covered, and ripped clothes.

"What happened?" Carlisle asked, stepping forward. She made her way towards the rest of her family while I made my to stand with Santiago, Demetri, and the Denali's, who were all listening in.

"Victoria. I was right, she was back." Bella said. The others started questioning her, and she started into the story of what happened.

"What happened here?" I asked the others.

"We found a couple newborns running around in some of the cities. They had no ideas of the laws, so we killed them." A blonde male next to Kate said.

"Sounds like it was a distraction for us, though." Eleazar said. "It seems that this Victoria knew that Bella would figure it out, and go searching for her on her own, leaving us distracted here."

"She knew Bella well, then." I said quietly.

"She knew you well." Carmen said. "Or, the old you at least."

I turned my head away. I could feel their stares, though. I suddenly became aware that the others were looking at me too. Everyone was, but the only stare I cared for was Bella's. Everybody else's held some kind of emotion, but her stare was blank, and cold. I held her gaze though, and eventually she looked away. I wondered what I had missed that made them all look at me, and cursed slightly that I couldn't hear their thoughts.

"What happens now? Where do we go from here?" Bella asked. Everyone turned to look at her, but I could tell Jasper still had his eyes on me.

"We go back home, and go back to our normal lives." Alice said. "Everything will be normal."

"I don't think things will be normal again, Alice." Bella said, looking down.

"What do you mean, dear?" Esme asked her, moving forward, and putting a hand on her shoulder. It seemed as though they had forgotten there was others still there.

"Think about it. Things haven't been the right in a long time. Everybody seems to be on a edge, lately. Emmett and I even got in a fight." She said. I realized that the scar I had seen on Emmett's hand was probably from her.

"Things will go back to normal, though. We just have to get used to it." Esme said. Bella sighed, then nodded.

She looked up with a smile. "Let's go home."

--

**Bella's Point of View**

We went back to England, and tried our hardest to make things seem normal again. And, it worked. We were a happy family again. We spent time together, messed around with each other, and occasionally bickered with each other. But we always made up, for I was never anything serious.

I had to try hard to make it work. It brought back memories, for the Cullen family seemed almost as it had when I was human. But, it wasn't quite the same. You could tell that sometimes laughs were forced, or that it was too quiet sometimes. Something was missing, and we all knew it. This family was missing a person, somebody we had all grown used to having around. And despite the fact that years had passed, that hole never filled over. But we tried.

I even improved in school. I spoke up more, answered questions in class. I smiled more, and in return, humans weren't any more afraid of me than the other Cullens. I fit in, and it felt… right.

Was it wrong to start to feel happy? To feel that things we started to be as they should be? I was single, alone, but it was starting to feel as though I was meant to be that way. I had grown used to it. I didn't think of Edward as much, didn't pine for him. I still loved him, but I knew now that I could deal without him in my life. I could make it without him. It might not be the happiest life but I could do it. Was that wrong?

We had just gotten home from another day of school, and I went up to my room to listen to music, and do my homework. The others were scattered around the house not really paying attention. I didn't mind though. I had other things on my mind.

I settled down on my floor, Drugs or Me by Jimmy Eat World playing softly in the background. I stretched out, my books on the floor in front of me. I had just finished my physics homework when my cell pone rang. I pulled it out from my back pocket, and looked at the caller ID. It was a blocked number. I lay there, debating on whether or not I should answer it. It could have been a telemarketer, or something, and that would waste my minutes.

"I think it's for you, Bella." Emmett said, looking in from my half shut door. He smiled, and I rolled my eyes. I flipped my phone open as he made his way downstairs.

"Hello?" I said, working on another problem on my homework.

"I'm coming home." A velvet voice said from the other side. I gripped my phone for a minute, surprised. Then I decided to answer.

"I'll be waiting."

**-~-**

**:O**

**It's what you guys were waiting for!**

**Please, review!**

**Namarie, for now!**


	24. Chapter 24

**I really liked this chapter, and i hope you do too!!!**

**--**

Smiling, I shut my phone, closed my book, and got up. Slipping my phone in my pocket in case he called, I made my way out of my room, and downstairs. Emmett, and Jasper were playing some game on the TV, Alice and Rosalie looking at some fashion magazine. Emmett looked up as I entered the room.

"Who was that?" He asked, in a mocking tone. "Your _boyfriend_?"

I smiled at him. "Yep."

Jasper turned to look at me, eyebrows raised. "She's not lying, either. I can feel your happiness."

"Where's Carlisle?" I asked, putting my shield up so that Jasper wouldn't be able to read me, and it would stay a surprise for everybody, even Alice. "I really need to talk to him."

Jasper smiled at me, sensing that my shield was up. "He and Esme went hunting. They're in the area, though. You'll probably find them if you go out."

"Thanks." I said, turning, and leaving.

I found their scent very easily once outside, and perched myself in a tree far enough from the house so that the others couldn't hear me, but close enough that I would hear them if they started back. I hadn't been in the tree but two minutes when I could hear them, a bit off into the trees still. I could hear Esme's high, pealing giggles, and Carlisle's low chuckles. I scooted forward so that I was out of the cover of the leaves, and sat with my legs on either side of the branch, swinging them. I felt like a five year old doing it, but I couldn't help it. I was _happy._

I could hear Carlisle and Esme coming closer, and it seemed as though I had picked a good tree for it sounded like they were going to cross right under me. Sure enough, Esme came into sight, running and still laughing. Carlisle came into sight a moment later, still laughing, and caught her just under my tree. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and her smile broadened. He kissed the side of her neck, and she turned in his arms. Placing her hands on either side of his face, she leaned in to kiss him. Her body curved to his, and he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Deciding that it was best I let them know I was there before anything went farther, I spoke up. "Tsk, tsk. What would your parents think about this?"

They jumped apart, and looked up at the tree I was in. "Bella…we, err, didn't see you there." Carlisle stammered. I smiled.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think I would interrupt anything. I just needed to talk to you about something, and Jasper told me you were out hunting. I figured I would just come out here to wait, since the others can't eavesdrop out here." I said with a smile.

Carlisle smiled. "That is fine, Bella. And that's a good idea, especially if you don't want others to hear."

"I'll see you at home." Esme said, pecking Carlisle on the lips. He smiled at her, and she disappeared. I swung one leg over the branch so that they were both on the same side, and started swinging them again.

"You seem pretty happy. Does this happen to have anything to do with what you want to talk about?" Carlisle asked, smiling. I smiled back at him.

"It does." I looked down, suddenly a little nervous about what I was going to ask him.

"What is it, Bella?" He asked. I took a deep breath.

"I just got a phone call a couple minutes ago. It was from… Edward." I said, hesitating on his name, sure that Carlisle would figure out what he could have said that would have made me so happy.

"Okay. And what did he have to say?"

"Well, that's kind of what I needed to ask you about…" I said, trailing off at the end. I looked up to see Carlisle looking at me, waiting for me to continue.

"He's coming back. And I wanted to make sure that would be okay with you."

To my surprise, Carlisle smiled. "Bella, Edward has always been welcome to come back. He's my son, my first companion, I could never turn him away from our home. No matter what he has, no matter how mad it makes me, he will always be welcome back. He's family."

I jumped out of the tree, landing just in front of Carlisle. "Thank you." I said quietly, hugging him. He hugged me back.

"you didn't honestly expect me to tell you no, I wasn't going to let him in the house, did you?" Carlisle asked, pulling back. I knew that if it were possible, I would have been blushing.

"I actually don't know what I expected." I said truthfully.

"Why don't we head back? I'm sure you have stuff you wish to get done before you get here." Carlisle suggested. I nodded.

"Carlisle, one more thing. I would really appreciate it if you don't tell anyone. I don't know how well they're going to take it, and I really don't want it to spoil my mood right now."

"No problem, Bella."

--

It didn't take long for us to get back. When we did, everybody was pretty much where we had left them, except that Jasper wasn't in the living room anymore. I could hear him upstairs, though. Also, I could Esme working in the kitchen, probably making something for a bake sale, or whatnot.

"Bella, will you please tell me what's going on? Jazz won't tell me, I can't see anything because you have your stupid shield up!" Alice said as soon as I walked in the door.

"That's kind of the point for my shield being up. And what do you mean, Jasper won't tell you?" I asked her, curious.

"He knows what' going on! He knows why your so happy all of a sudden." Alice said, her voice rising in volume.

"How?"

"I don't know! He won't tell me!" Alice shouted. It had gone quiet upstairs, and Emmett was watching us, a smile on his face. I narrowed my eyes, and started towards the stairs, determined to find out what all this was about.

"Ooh, Jasper's going to get it." Emmett snicker.

"Shut up, Emmett." I said. He just laughed louder, a sound that I was still getting used to hearing daily.

I marched up the stairs, and to Jasper and Alice's room. I pounded my fist on the door. "Come in, Bella." Came Jasper's deep, but soft voice.

"Do you care to explain what Alice is going on about downstairs?" I asked him, walking into the room. He was standing in front of the large window, facing me. He smiled.

"I don't have any idea what your talking about, Bella."

"Jasper…" I said in a warning tone.

"I know he's coming back." Jasper said quiet enough that the others downstairs couldn't have possibly heard him.

"How? You weren't listening in on our phone call, were you?" I demanded just as quietly.

"No, I'm the one who gave him the idea." He said, the smile returning to his face.

"What?" I asked, shocked.

"I could feel the emotions coming off of you when you came back with him. I could feel the love that was normally there, but there was a stronger love too, it reminded me of when you were human, and before he left… but stronger. I told him, and told him he should come back."

I stared at Jasper in shock. I might have expected something like this from Alice, but not from him. Jasper was usually so quiet, and didn't usually involve him in others business. I could tell that he didn't like to be the center of attention, but this was sure to get him a lot of attention, and he knew it.

"Thank you." I whispered, hugging him. Jasper seemed a little surprised for a moment, but after a second, he wrapped his arms around me.

"Anything for my little sister."

--

It was nearing midnight, and I was sitting on the couch, waiting to hear something from Edward. Suddenly, I heard something other than the light rain outside. I could hear something coming towards the house, down the drive. Everybody was in the living room, and their heads turned towards the sound. I paid them no attention, though, for I had jumped up when I heard the sound, and started towards the door. I pushed it open, and walked out on the porch, standing on the edge.

"Is this why she's been so happy?" I heard Alice ask fro ma little bit behind me.

"Yes, now just leave them be." Jasper said, and Alice huffed. I ignored them, for I could see the figure coming towards the house. He reached the house, and seeing me at the top of the steps, stopped at the bottom. He smiled, and I looked at him, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Bella." He breathed.

"Are you going to be good?" I asked him. His smiled widened, and he raised his eyebrows.

"Where's the fun is life if you have to be good all the time?" He asked, no sounding like the Edward I knew. The smile on his face wasn't his either. I couldn't help it, though. I smiled, and bounded off the porch. I threw my arms around him, and buried my face in the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent. He wrapped his arms around me, and I felt him put his face in my hair.

"I missed you." I said, my voice muffled.

"You miss the old me." He corrected, turning his head so that his cheek lay on top of my head. I didn't respond. "But the old me is gone."

"Not completely, though." I whispered, turning my head so that my cheek rested against his chest. "I can tell. You're not the old you, but your not the Volturi you, either. You're a mix of them."

I felt him shake with silent chuckles. "I missed you, too."

I pulled my head back to look at him, and smiled. Some of his hair fell to his face from the weight the light rain had given it, and he flipped it off his face, smiling at me in return. With a shock, I realized that his smile was exactly the same, it hadn't changed as it seemed the rest of him has. It wasn't the cold, cruel sneer I had gotten used to at Volterra, but his beautiful, lopsided smile. I had forgotten exactly how beautiful it was, how it lit up his face. Pulling him even closer, I stretched on my toes to kiss him.

For the first time in almost a decade, our lips met. This kiss was different from the others. It held the sweetness of two souls finally being reunited with their soul mate. But, it was different in a physical way, too. My lips didn't mold around his, but held their own. It was more passionate, he didn't hold back on my anymore, and I didn't either. I let my hands wrap themselves in his hair, and my body pressed to his. And for once, he didn't stop me.

Even though I didn't need to breathe, I pulled my lips away from his. I started trailing kisses up his jaw, and made my way to his ear. "You don't know how badly I've wanted to do that."

He just smiled, and pulled my lips back to his.

--

Third Person

The man strode angrily into the room, instantly spotting the two others talking, and sitting on the other side. Growling lowly, he stormed over to them.

"What _have_you done, Marcus?" Aro asked, his voice laced with venom. Marcus looked up slowly, seeming uninterested.

"What do you mean, Aro?" He asked in a monotone.

"You know what I mean! You let our most valued guard go! And you let another one leave! You _told_them to leave!" Aro shouted, unable o control his anger. Marcus simply sighed, and the other, blond haired vampire smiled, watching his brothers quarrel.

"They deserved to be set free. Who am I to hold them back from love? I knew how they felt, I knew they were bonded, so I let them be." Marcus said in the same tone, which only angered Aro more.

"That is not yours to decide, Marcus! You cannot let guards go-" Aro started, but Marcus uncharacteristically cut him off.

"Because I am no longer you equal. Do not try to deny that you no longer think of me as your brother, as your equal. I can see it. You place me lower than you now. You feel more for the guards, they are your family. I am not."

Aro didn't say anything, but simply narrowed his eyes. He was surprised at how much Marcus had gotten simply from seeing their bonds, but was careful not to let it show. "Your sister would have let them go. It's what she would have wanted." Marcus added since Aro had not said anything.

"My sister was a dammed fool. That is why she ended up as she did: dead." Aro spat out. He did love his sister, but she had planned to betray him with his most trusted partner, the very vampire he was now arguing with.

Marcus looked up, and his eyes met _Aro's_. For the first time in century's, there was emotion in them "I know you did it, Aro. I know that it was you who killed her."

"Why would I kill my own sister?" Questioned Aro. Caius, who had remained silent, was surprised. He had known what Aro had done, but had never spoken of it. Aro was so sure that Marcus did not know, he would have seen it in his thoughts, so Caius pondered if Marcus was just making a lucky guess.

"You saw that we planned to leave. You knew we wished for nothing of what you spoke of." Marcus said. "I know what you did."

"So what if I did? You just as much as a fool as she was! You're a dammed fool who deserves death!" Aro shouted.

"So kill me. Kill me just as you killed her." His brother replied, standing up. There was a hint of anger in his voice. Aro had confessed to it.

"I would, but you don't deserve it. You don't deserve the freedom, and release death would grant you. You deserve to wonder this planet alone. A lost soul."

"So are you going to make me leave the fortress? Are going to make me take the life of a nomad?" Marcus challenged.

"It would be far too easy for you to suffer that way. You could bring death upon yourself. Or, you could go to be with your precious _friends. _You could go, and live with the damn Cullens!" Aro said. He stopped to calm himself. Then, he started again. "I'm not letting you leave. You are staying here to suffer everyday of forever with us, making sure you get the hell you deserve."

Aro turned, and walked back towards the large windows on the other side of the room. Marcus sighed, and sat back down, instantly going back to his emotionless self. Caius sighed, and leaned back in his chair. He had been hoping for some more action.

"How?" Aro asked after a couple minutes, not turning away from the window.

"You can know things without thinking them, Aro. I knew it in my heart, but I chose to not note that fact. I simply chose no to think about it." Marcus said, his voice back to his monotone. "You can only see what runs through our heads, not what goes through our hearts."

"Aye, that is true." Aro said. He turned, and left the room as if nothing had ever even happened.

--

It should be noted that several days later, a group of terrified human showed p in the fortress Volterra. They had all come from empty backgrounds, no family, poor life. Their lives were forfeit, whether they knew it or not. One of them carried a note with him. It said that they were courtesy of Eleazar, and that they might find them useful. And the Volturi did indeed.

**--**

**The humans were sent in hopes that the Volturi would accept them to take the place of their two lost members. Eleazar sought out humans who had no true life, whether they knew it or not, and out of those, picked the ones who he fet would have a gift useful to the Volturi. Hope that clears up any confusion that you may have had.**

**As you also may have assumed, Edward is one of the two vampires who left. The other was Santiago, and he left because he met Tanya, and instantly felt a connection for her. When Marcus felt the bond that Santiago had created ,and saw that it surpassed the one he had with Bella, he told him that he, and Edward should flee together. And so they did.**

**Sadly, I must say that the next chapter is the last one for Weak! well, I'm pretty sure it is... I could go and drag the story out a bunch more, but I think this is a good point to end it. Not much more could happen. So sad... But I will try to get it written and up ASAP!**

**Oh, and the longest chapter!!! Over 3000 words!**

**Please review!!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Okay, so this is the end. It's a short chapter, but I decided that this was probably a good ending, and the best suited for the time of the year. :)**

**For any of you that like my work, and want ot read more, or simply care about what I have to say, there is going to be an important note at the bottom!**

**--**

Sometimes, when your truly happy, and everything seems right, you wonder how it could have ever been different. You wonder how you knew a life before this, how you could deal with something different. You wonder why that made you happy. You just can't understand it.

That's how I feel about my life now, I have a family who loves me, who I get to see everyday. I have a human father who doesn't care that I could easily kill him, and I get to talk to everyday. And, I have my Edward, my love. So, I find it a little hard that I could have ever known happiness in another form, or that it could have ever been different.

A sudden crack from below me caught my attention, and pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked down fro where I sat on a tree branch to see a small deer stuck in the ice. A thin layer of ice covered to loads of snow we had gotten, and this deer seemed to have broken through it, and gotten stuck. I easily slid off the branch, and landed next to the animal, on top of the snow. This sent the deer into a frenzy, eager to get away from me.

Not wanting the animal to hurt itself, I reached out very quickly, and pulled it out of the snow, and ice. Without even knowing what had happened, the animal found itself on top of the snow. It had a small cut on its leg from where the ice had dug into it, but this didn't seem to bother it as it ran away from me.

I watched as it disappeared into the woods. I had just jumped up to get back on my branch, when two strong arms wrapped around me, and pulled me back down. We3 crashed into the snow, me face first with the figure on top of me. I easily flipped over in the figures arms, wanting to get my face out of the snow, and wanting to see who had cause me to get soaked. I found Edward's laughing face just inches from mine. Try as I might, I couldn't help but to join in with his laughter.

"What was that for? You got me soaked!" I said. He smiled.

"Do you honestly care?" He asked me.

"No, but I bet that Alice won't be too happy. She picked these clothes out." I said.

"Well, Alice is just going to have to deal with your clothes being soaked then."

"Can you let me up?" I asked him.

He smiled evilly. "Now why would I want to do that?" He asked me.

"Because you love me."

"Says who?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Says me." I said. I slid my arms around his neck, and pulled my lips up to meet his in a kiss. He complied, and wrapped his arms around my waist. Without breaking the kiss, I rolled us over so that I was on top, which caused him to smile against my lips. Then, in an instant, I was off of him, and running through the snow, away from him. A second later, I could hear him running after e in the snow, and gaining fast.

I pushed myself to go faster, but it wasn't fast enough. Edward caught up to me, and caught me in his arms. Instead of knocking us both to the ground this time, though, he pulled me tight against his chest. "Thought you could get away from me, did you?" He asked my, putting his chin on my shoulder. I leaned back against his chest.

"No, but I still tried." I said with a smile.

"Well ,you're not getting away this time.' Edward murmured, and turned me in his arms to kiss me.

--

An hour later, Edward and I made our way into the living room, soaking wet from the snow.

"What happened?" Esme asked from where she was sitting on the couch with Carlisle. Carlisle shut his book and looked up at us.

"Snow. I thought you were supposed to be at work today?" I answered simply, and directed the attention to Carlisle.

"I was, but they left me off early since there wasn't much to be done. They also thought I might like to spend some time with my family since it's Christmas Eve." Carlisle said . Saw his eyes flick up to check Edward's, and heard Edward's quiet sigh.

"Do you honestly not trust me to not slip up?" Edward asked him.

Edward had been with us a month, and not once had he attacked a human. I always went with him on his hunting trips just in case, but not once did he ever even show signs of wanting to go for a human. His eyes had just returned to a golden, and every time we get back from hunting, Carlisle checks Edward's eyes to see if he slipped up. Edward obviously sees him do it, and hears it in his thoughts. Only once has he voiced it to me how much it bothers him.

"I trust you son, it's just…" Carlisle trailed off though, seeming to decided it was better not to say what he was thinking. Edward though, had already heard it in his thoughts, and pulled away from me, and made his way up the stairs. I sighed, and made my way after him.

I found Edward in our room, my old room., looking out the window. I walked up behind him, and wrapped my arms around his waist from behind, and leaned my head on his back. "You okay?"

"He thinks that I'm weak. Carlisle saw how easily my will was broken before, how easily I left the family. He's afraid that my will is going to fail me now, and that some innocent human is going to lose their life because of it. He sees me as a weak soul." Edward said quietly.

"You're not weak Edward, and you know that. You just made a bad choice, and we can't help but worry that something may happen as a result of that." I said. He pulled me around so that he was holding me to his chest. I wrapped my arms around his waist again, and looked up at him.

"Do you worry that I'm going to do something? Something bad, something horrible?" He asked me.

I hesitated, and he made to pull away from me, assuming the worst. "No, wait." I said, tightening my grip on his waist. He looked down at me again. "I worry that you're going to leave me again. I worry that you'll find somebody more worthy of you, like Heidi. I've always had these worries, though. Edward, I don't care what you've done. I don't care what you do, as long as you still love me. No matter what, I will never stop loving you."

"Do you promise?" He asked me.

"Yes. Do you promise?" I asked him.

"Promise what?"

"Promise that you'll never leave me, or the family again?"

"I promise." He said with a smile.

"Good. Now seal it with a kiss." I said, also smiling. He leaned down and kissed me, and I moved my arms up to wrap around his neck. After a minute, we broke apart. "I don't know about you, but I don't like standing her, soaked. I'm going to change."

"I think you might need some help with that." He said, following me into the closest.

--

It was nearing eleven, and we were all sitting in the living room. I was on Edward's lap, gazing into the fire. All of us were dress in pajamas, something Esme had insisted on. She said it something everybody did on Christmas, pt on their pajamas before it was time for 'Santa' to come. I didn't bother to point out to her that those people were all human, and planned on sleeping. Nobody else said anything about it either.

"And what do you want for Christmas?" Carlisle asked Esme quietly. Everybody had been talking quietly to each other, but then, for some reason, it had fallen quiet.

"I don't want anything for Christmas. I have everything could possibly want." Esme replied leaning her head on Carlisle's shoulder. It was silent.

Then Emmett got up.

He bounded over to where Carlisle, and Esme were, and planted himself down on Carlisle's knee. I was staring at him in wonder, and Edward was laughing quietly, already knowing what Emmett was doing. So was Alice.

"Santa, I want a pony, and a scooter, and a rocket ship, and a hippopotamus, and my two front teeth, and a puppy, and an ice cream, and a new game boy, and a Barbie doll, and a make-up set, and power ranger, and a…" Emmett kept rattling on, and on what he wanted, while we were trying hard to laugh, clearly wanting to hear what he was saying. " and a rainbow, and a unicorn, and another puppy, and a pretty pink tricycle for Christmas."

We all burst out laughing, clear that he was done. Carlisle started speaking though. "I don't know… You've been a naughty boy this year, Emmett."

Emmett put on a very convincing pouty face. "But…but… I promise o be a good boy!!! Pwease, Santa!"

Carlisle smiled. "I guess… But you must promise to be a good boy."

Emmett made a show of putting his hand behind his back, and crossing his fingers. "I promise."

I started laughing again as Emmett got off of Carlisle's lap. He and Carlisle had started laughing too.

"Alright children, time for bed." Esme said once we had all calmed down.

"Awwww. But mom." Alice said, stretching out the mom. She sounded just like a five year old. "Can't we stay up just a little bit longer?"

"Not unless you don't want Santa to come." Esme said, her tone threatening.

"Fine." Alice huffed. Edward stood up as the others did, and pulled me to my feet.

"Come love, we must go wait for 'Santa' " He said with a smile.

"But we didn't leave cookies out for Santa, or put reindeer feed out either." I said in a childlike voice.

Edward bent down closer to me, as if he were going to tell me a secret. " But didn't you know? Santa's a vampire!"

"Nuh uh!" I protested, pulling back in mock shock.

"Oh course he is, Bella. How else would he break into some many people's house without them knowing?" Emmett said as he walked by, smiling.

I rolled my eyes, and let Edward lead me upstairs. As we made the way to our room, we passed the hall window, and I looked outside. "It's snowing again." I said quietly, a smile on my face.

"Of course it is. It's Christmas Eve. It always snows the night before Christmas." Edward replied. I leaned my head on his shoulder as we made our way into our bedroom. He pulled me over to the couch, and say down, me snuggled up to his side.

"I love you, so freaking much." I said. He chuckled quietly, probably at my choice of words.

"I love you too, so freaking much." He replied. It was my turn to chuckle then.

We sat like that for a couple of minutes, just happy with being in each others arms. We didn't have o t say anything. A couple of times, Edward would lean down, and kiss my hair, the top of my head, and in response, I would kiss his shoulder. It was love, without making a show of it.

Seeing the time of the radio clock, I moved so that I was on Edward's lap, my arms wrapped around his neck. I kissed him, and he wrapped his arms around my waist, kissing me back. After a minute, I pulled back, smiling.

"Merry Christmas."

--

**THE END**

**Just a short( very short ), and sweet little last chapter. I figure that it suits the time of the year, since Christmas is on Friday.**

**Please, one last time, REVIEW!**

Below is the important note!

**2/15/10 as of about five minutes ago, this note didn't matter anymore. But for any of you who were curious, it was me saying that I was taking a break from fan fiction, and planned to return sometime in January. Clearly, you can see that I am a month late in returning, but honestly, I couldn't care less because I am back now. Thank you for wasting your time, and reading this unimportant note! :)**


End file.
